Patent ID: 7860569

Claim:
A method comprising: identifying that a subject is at particular future risk of suffering from vascular dementia (VaD) even though the subject displays no symptoms of VaD at the time of the identifying; and responding to the identifying by reducing a risk of development of the VaD by: applying electrical stimulation to a site of the subject at least intermittently during a period having a duration of at least four weeks, the site selected from the group consisting of: a sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG), a greater palatine nerve, a lesser palatine nerve, a sphenopalatine nerve, a communicating branch between a maxillary nerve and an SPG, an otic ganglion, an afferent fiber going into the otic ganglion, an efferent fiber going out of the otic ganglion, an infraorbital nerve, a vidian nerve, a greater superficial petrosal nerve, and a lesser deep petrosal nerve, and configuring the stimulation applied to the site to induce at least one neuroprotective occurrence selected from the group consisting of: an increase in cerebral blood flow (CBF) of the subject, and a release of one or more neuroprotective substances.