Alzheimer's, high blood pressure linked in study

Alzheimer's, high blood pressure linked in study
A doctor checks the blood pressure of a patient at the J.W.C.H. clinic in downtown Los Angeles July 30, 2007. Having high blood pressure reduces blood flow in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, making them more vulnerable to the effects of the disease, researchers reported on Wednesday. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)CHICAGO (Reuters) - Having high blood pressure reducesblood flow in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, making themmore vulnerable to the effects of the disease, researchersreported on Wednesday.
Researchers used a magnetic resonance imaging technique tomeasure blood flow in the brains of 68 older adults. They foundcerebral blood flow was substantially decreased in all patientswith high blood pressure and was the lowest in Alzheimer'spatients with high blood pressure.
"What we think may be happening is hypertension reflects anextra hit to the brain," said Cyrus Raji of the University ofPittsburgh, who led the study.
The study compared Alzheimer patients to adults with normalcognitive function and a group with mild cognitive impairment,defined as a transitional stage between dementia and normal,age-related deficits in language, attention and reasoning.
Half of the patients in each of the three groups had highblood pressure and half did not.
The researchers used an imaging program called arterialspin-labeled MRI, which calculates blood flow per minute in asection of brain tissue and does not require use of a contrastagent. Contrast agents are compounds the patient receiveseither orally or intravenously to make the MRI scan easier tosee.
"This is a very safe technique, especially for theelderly," Raji said in an interview at the annual meeting ofthe Radiological Society of North America in Chicago, where hepresented his findings.
About 50 million Americans have hypertension, in which theblood circulates through the arteries with too much force,according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Thecondition increases the risk for heart attack, stroke andaneurysm.
"This study demonstrates that good vascular health is alsogood for the brain," said Oscar Lopez of the University ofPittsburgh, who also worked on the study.
(Editing by Maggie Fox)