Diabetes augments cognitive dysfunction in chronic cerebral hypoperfusion by increasing neuronal cell death: Implication of cilostazol for diabetes mellitus-induced dementia

Our experimental results support the hypothesis that there are deleterious interactions between chronic cerebral hypoperfusion and T2DM. That is, metabolic diseases such as diabetes may exacerbate cognitive impairment in a rat model of vascular dementia. We also suggest that surprisingly, the phosphodiesterase III inhibitor, cilostazol may be useful for the treatment of cognitive impairment in diabetes mellitus-induced dementia. In conclusion, diabetes can aggravate cognitive dysfunction in vascular dementia, and PDE-3 inhibitors, such as cilostazol, may form the basis of a novel therapeutic strategy for diabetes-associated cognitive impairment or vascular dementia.