The following features suggest vascular dementia Patchy deficits Better free recall Fewer recall intrusions Early apathy Poor verbal fluency Vascular risk factors Relative preservation of personality Neurological signs e.g pseudobulbar palsy, brisk reflexes Erratic progression Signs of hypertension and arteriolocsclerosis on physical examination The Hatchinski ischemic score is used to differentiate between the two. score above 6 suggests vascular dementia and below 5 suggestive dementia of Alzheimer type.