How exactly is your doctor addressing arterial stiffness and neurofilament light chain problems? Oh, has DONE NOTHING, LIKE USUAL!
Let's see how long your doctor has been incompetent!
High blood pressure variability linked to brain atrophy in older adults
The combination of high beat-to-beat blood pressure variability (BPV) and elevated pulse pressure variability -- a marker of arterial stiffness -- was linked to medial temporal lobe atrophy and increased plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL), both key markers of neurodegeneration, according to a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
The findings suggest that haemodynamic instability may play a significant role in age-related brain decline, highlighting the importance of monitoring and managing BPV to protect cognitive health.
“Our findings show that even when average blood pressure is normal, instability from one heartbeat to the next may place stress on the brain,” said senior author Daniel A. Nation, PhD, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California. “These moment-to-moment swings appear to be associated with the same kinds of brain changes we see in early neurodegeneration.”
The researchers recruited 105 older adults without major neurological or systemic diseases to investigate the relationship between BPV and markers of neurodegeneration. Participants underwent continuous blood pressure monitoring to quantify beat-to-beat variability using systolic average real variability (ARV) and pulse pressure variability via an arterial stiffness index (ASI). Brain MRI assessed medial temporal lobe atrophy, while plasma samples measured NfL and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) as biomarkers of neuronal and glial injury.
Analysis revealed that participants with both high ARV and high ASI exhibited significant left-sided medial temporal lobe atrophy, including in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, confirmed through region-of-interest and voxel-based morphometry analyses. This combination was also associated with elevated plasma NfL levels, indicating increased neurodegenerative activity, though GFAP levels were unaffected.
“Traditionally, we’ve focused on lowering average blood pressure numbers,” said Trevor Lohman, PhD, University of Southern California. “But this study suggests we should also be looking at how stable blood pressure is from moment to moment. Reducing these fluctuations could help protect the brain, even in people whose average readings look fine.”
The authors noted that because this was a cross-sectional study, it cannot prove cause and effect, necessitating larger, long-term studies that closely examine the links between cardiovascular and brain health.
Reference: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13872877251386443
SOURCE: University of Southern California
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