Scientists studying the relationship between dementia and high blood pressure have made a huge breakthrough, as they have discovered how the former affects the brain.
High blood pressure is a common condition that affects 30 per cent of the world's population and previous studies have shown how it can lead to cognitive decline. But findings of this groundbreaking study have identified for the first time what precise regions of the brain it impacts most.
Academics found that areas of the brain linked to memory loss and thinking skills are especially impacted by high blood pressure. Until now, it was not known exactly how high blood pressure damages the brain and new findings may impact how dementia is treated in the future, Wales Online reports.
To investigate the effects of high blood pressure on the vital organ, researchers examined MRI brain scans and genetic data of thousands of patients. They also checked their findings alongside a large, separate group of patients in Italy.
Scientists looked at those with genes associated with high blood pressure, making them more likely to develop the malady in life. If certain genes that cause the condition are linked to a part of the brain's structure - it may be high blood pressure that's causing the problems in that area "leading to problems with memory, thinking and dementia".
The study, co-funded by the European Research Council, the British Heart Foundation and the Italian Ministry of Health, Prof. Guzik and his team analysed MRI imaging of more than 30,000 patients in the UK Biobank study.
They also looked at genetic information from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) from three international groups and a technique called 'Mendelian randomisation'. This was done to see if high blood pressure was actually the root cause of changes to specific parts of the brain - as opposed to merely being associated with the changes.
On how Mendelian randomisation works, Prof. Guzik explained: "It's is a way of using genetic information to understand how one thing affects another. In particular, it tests if something is potentially causing a certain effect, or if the effect is just a coincidence.
"It works by using a person's genetic information to see if there is a relationship between genes predisposing to higher blood pressure and outcomes. If there is a relationship, then it is more likely that the high blood pressure is causing the outcome.
"This is because genes are randomly passed down from parents, so they are not influenced by other factors that could confuse the results. In our study, if a gene that causes high blood pressure is also linked to certain brain structures and their function, then it suggests that high blood pressure might really be causing brain dysfunction at that location, leading to problems with memory, thinking and dementia."
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