Assessment of Four Serum Biochemical Markers in Elderly Patients with Vascular Dementia after Cerebral Infarction and Their Response to Donepezil and Idebenone

Objective Our study aimed to explore four serum levels of biochemical markers, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), homocysteine (Hcy), nitric oxide (NO), and γ-interferon (IFN-γ), in elderly patients with vascular dementia (VD) after the cerebral infarction and to elucidate possible connections between them. Method The elderly patients with VD after cerebral infarction admitted in our hospital, and the elderly persons for physical examination from November 2020 to December 2021 were included in this study. The serum levels of BDNF, Hcy, NO, and IFN-γ were compared between the study group and the control group. Results In the study group, the serum levels of Hcy and IFN-γ were significantly higher than that in the control group, whereas significantly lower serum levels of BDNF and NO were found in the study group compared with the control group. After receiving the intervention of donepezil and/or idebenone, the serum levels of Hcy and IFN-γ in group B were significantly lower than that in group A, while the serum levels of BDNF and NO in group B were significantly higher than that in Group A. Conclusion The results of our study showed abnormally expressed serum levels of Hcy, IFN-γ, BDNF, and NO in elderly patients with VD after cerebral infarction which might strongly reflect the severity of VD. Moreover, after intervention of donepezil alone or combined with idebenone, the changes of serum levels of Hcy, IFN-γ, BDNF, and NO may reflect the curative effect of the disease.