Feeling the Pressure

Exacerbated by lifestyle factors like poor diets and insufficient exercise, high blood pressure, or hypertension, is a common problem thought to affect around a third of us worldwide. Putting our organs under strain, persistent hypertension increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, along with impaired cognition and dementia. To better understand how hypertension impacts brain function, a recent study used a database of information from thousands of patients to investigate links between genetic data, blood pressure, properties of the brain and fluid intelligence, a measure of problem-solving and flexible thinking ability. Using MRI scans, researchers identified brain areas most affected by hypertension (pictured in yellow, with especially sensitive sections in red), and among these, areas in which blood pressure-related changes are associated with reduced cognitive function. Knowing which parts of the brain to target could facilitate the use of brain imaging to assess patients’ risk of developing dementia.

Written by Emmanuelle Briolat

Emmanuelle Briolat

Writer

A researcher specialising in visual signals in Lepidoptera, camouflage and the effects of light pollution, Emmanuelle’s writing covers a range of topics, from biomedical research to children’s books about moth defences.

Website

• Image by Dr Lorenzo Carnevale, IRCCS INM Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy
• Research by Mateusz Siedlinski et al, Department of Internal Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
• Image copyright held by Dr Lorenzo Carnevale, IRCCS INM Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy
• Research published in the European Heart Journal, March 2023