August 8, 2020 / BIOON/ --Recently, in a research report published in the international journal hypertention, scientists from the University of Michigan Medical School and other institutions found that long-term high blood pressure may increase the risk of small and medium-sized cerebral vascular damage, which is often directly related to dementia and stroke risk; for a long time, we all know that high blood pressure can lead to stroke, but in the past studies Just linking hypertension to the risk of Alzheimer's disease, in this latest study, researchers focused on how high blood pressure affects cerebral small vessel disease, the most frequent cerebrovascular disease in stroke and dementia patients.
In this study, the researchers studied 1686 adults who did not suffer from stroke or dementia at the beginning of the study and analyzed the participants' data. The researchers measured their blood pressure in middle-aged and old age, and performed brain MRIs scans to check for brain microbleeds in different parts of the brain, the accumulation of small and medium-sized blood products in brain tissues, and brain tissue death These problems are the symptoms of cerebral small vessel disease.
The researchers found that the longer participants had high blood pressure, the higher their risk of small vessel disease in the brain Dr. Romero pointed out that this is the first population-based study, which reports that there is a certain correlation between the trend of long-term hypertension and the prevalence of cerebral small vessel disease in old age; since cerebral small vessel disease is the most common cerebrovascular disease, the relevant research results may help researchers distinguish between stroke and dementia with high risk Groups.
Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. According to the data of the Alzheimer's disease association of the United States, there are about 6 million people suffering from the disease in the United States. With the growth of the baby boomers, this number is expected to more than double. In 2017, 6.2 million people died of stroke, of which more than 146000 in the United States died of stroke The fifth leading cause of death in the United States, where about 46% of adults now have high blood pressure, these data provide a huge opportunity for researchers to intervene.
The researchers hope that this study can increase the understanding of people and medical practitioners. If hypertension can be treated as soon as possible, the population may reduce the risk of small vessel disease in the brain, and more importantly, it will reduce the risk of stroke and dementia in the later stage. In order to treat high blood pressure, clinicians will prescribe blood pressure lowering drugs for patients and recommend them to take low salt food Exercise regularly, limit alcohol consumption, do not smoke, and maintain a healthy weight.
Researcher Romero said that in the future, we will fine tune the therapies we have developed and find the best drugs to effectively prevent small vessel disease in the brain through long-term research. Although most people living near Framingham, Massachusetts are included in this study, the results may be applicable to other ethnic groups and to other geographic areas People in the area. The results of this study are very important because they reveal the association between hypertension, cerebral small vessel disease and stroke and dementia, which were hypothesized and lack of evidence before this study.
Finally, the researchers said that this study emphasizes the importance of regularly checking the body's own blood pressure and timely intervening in blood pressure. Controlling blood pressure is the most effective way to reduce the risk of stroke and dementia. Now experts and clinicians can use many drugs to reduce patients' hypertension to the ideal level, so we have no reason to let the body's blood pressure out of control and increase Other risk factors. (Bio Valley) Bioon.com )
Original source:
Rodica Elena Petrea, Adrienne O’Donnell, Alexa S. Beiser, et al. Mid to Late Life Hypertension Trends and Cerebral Small Vessel Disease in the Framingham Heart Study, Hypertension (2020). DOI:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.120.15073
