A review of animal models of vascular dementia.

Vascular dementia (VD) is characterized by the presence of cerebrovascular lesions, specifically hemorrhagic or ischemic lesions within the brain parenchyma, with ischemic lesions being more prevalent. The resultant progressive decline in cognitive abilities and memory poses a significant challenge to public health and quality of life. Consequently, a growing number of researchers have focused on exploring the pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment strategies for VD. The establishment of suitable animal models for investigating the underlying mechanisms of VD treatment and assessing therapeutic efficacy has emerged as a focal point in this area of research. This review systematically compares the construction methods, pathological features, and behavioral phenotypes of classical and modified VD animal models, while analyzing their respective advantages and limitations. Key obstacles to clinical translation presented by the existing models are highlighted, including species differences, behavioral confounding factors, and issues related to methodological reproducibility. Furthermore, this article offers a reference framework for model selection based on various research objectives, aimed at enhancing the translational value of preclinical VD investigations.