Figure 3.

The intact neurovascular unit and breakdown of the neurovascular unit in VaD. Illustrations of the intact neurovascular unit that typically contains normal blood cells, endothelial cells, basement membrane ensheathed by pericytes and end feet of astrocytes in the brain. The figure also represents the breakdown of the neurovascular unit resulting from the BBB disruption, the crucial pathological hallmarks of VaD such as endothelial cell death and drift of pericyte. The activation of immune cells interaction between the activated microglia and peripheral blood cells leading to the release of TGF-β and breakdown of exosomes and release of macrovesicles in the brain of subjects with VaD.