A new study has found that patients with hypertension can suffer from reduced brain volume years later.
The research, published in The Lancet Neurology today (21 August), analysed information from a long-term study which measured blood pressure from early adulthood through to late life, and gave participants brain scans in their early 70s. A total of 502 people were tracked since their birth in 1946.
Analysis suggests that the ages 36 to 53 seem to be a ‘sensitive period’ when high blood pressure – 140/90 mm Hg or higher – and large increases in blood pressure could cause particular damage to the brain.
The researchers, led by Professor Jonathan Schott of University College London, UK, call for routine blood pressure monitoring at 40 years of age, when the NHS health check is first offered.
The mechanism by which high blood pressure may lead to reductions in brain volume and white matter brain lesions remains unclear. The team found it does not seem to be linked to impaired cognition or the build-up of beta-amyloid plaques seen in Alzheimer’s disease.
Professor Schott says: “Our research builds on existing evidence around the role of blood pressure and subsequent brain pathology.
“We found that higher and rising blood pressure between the ages of 36 and 53 had the strongest associations with smaller brain volume and increases in white matter brain lesions in later life.
“We speculate that these changes may, over time, result in a decline in brain function for example impairments in thinking and behaviour, so making the case for targeting blood pressure in mid-life, if not earlier.”
Lane, C. A. et al. Associations between blood pressure across adulthood and late-life brain structure and pathology in the neuroscience substudy of the 1946 British birth cohort. The Lancet Neurology 21 August 2019; doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(19)30228-5
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(19)30228-5/fulltext
Leave a Reply