Enlarged fluid spaces around blood vessels in Alzheimer's and vascular dementia suggest a role for support cells specific to Alzheimer's

Both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mixed dementia groups showed significantly increased enlargement of the perivascular space (ePVS) compared to cognitively intact subjects.

• Increased global expression of aquaporin-4 (AQP4) was observed in the AD group compared to both control and mixed dementia groups.
• A qualitative reduction in the perivascular localization of AQP4 was found specifically in the AD group.
• The burden of ePVS was associated with the presence of tau and amyloid-β pathology among the studied cases.
• Findings suggest differences in ePVS related to Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.
• The study provides new insights into the potential role of astroglial pathology in ePVS.

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