In previous studies, researchers have linked high blood pressure to an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia, but before the new study it was not known exactly how high blood pressure damages the brain, and which specific areas are affected.
This is the first time that scientists have identified specific brain regions that are potentially important in the effects on human cognitive impairment due to high blood pressure.
How is the brain affected?
In exclusive statements to Sky News Arabia, study leader Tomasz Guzik, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, and Jagiellonian University in Poland says:
- We used new tools to study the relationship between high blood pressure and the brain. One such tool was Mendelian randomization, which is a way of using genetic information to understand how one thing affects another.
- Another tool is brain imaging, which allows us to see how different parts of the brain are affected by blood pressure.
- We found that changes in nine parts of the brain are associated with higher blood pressure and poorer cognitive function.
- The damaged areas of the brain included: The putamen, a circular structure at the base of the front of the brain, which is responsible for regulating movement and influencing different types of learning.
- Other brain regions we have identified have unique names, such as the thalamic radius anterior, coronal radiata anterior, and anterior tip of the capsular internalis. These regions are the white matter pathways that connect the thalamic and brainstem projections to the prefrontal cortex (different regions of the brain).
- The anterior thalamic rays are involved in executive functions, such as planning simple and complex daily tasks, while the radiate coronal anterior and the anterior end of the internal capsule are involved in tasks such as decision-making and emotion management.
- By identifying these brain regions, we can better understand how high blood pressure affects the brain, and develop more targeted interventions to prevent cognitive impairment and dementia.
The accuracy of the results
The structure and function of the brain is very complex, and it is difficult to identify the exact mechanisms or even the brain regions responsible for the cognitive impairment caused by high blood pressure. To make this possible, the researchers used brain MRI data from more than 30,000 participants in the UK Biobank study. .
To validate the UK Biobank data, the researchers needed to recruit a small group of volunteers in the southern Italian city of Pozzelli, near Naples, Tomasz Gusek says.
On the accuracy of the results, Guzik says, the UK Biobank is very strong in terms of sample size, with currently nearly 40,000 people for whom brain imaging data is available and about 500,000 people for whom cognitive and genetic testing is available.
And the study leader points out the need to take into account that the results of the study concern middle-aged citizens of the United Kingdom, as well as a limited sample of patients in Italy, so it is important to expand the scope of research in the future.
#time. #discovery #areas #brain #affected #high #blood #pressure