Risk for Alzheimer’s linked to high pulse pressure

By Caribbean Medical News Staff

Researchers from the San Diego Healthcare System analysed 177 people between the age of 55 and 100 who had no symptoms of Alzheimer’s. When their spinal fluid was studied, the patients between 55 and 70 who had higher pule pressure were more likely to have the biomarkers in their cerebral spinal fluid as compared to those whose pulse pressure was lower.

The Mayo Clinic also suggested that this high pulse pressure could be a strong indicator for potential heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke.

Middle-aged people who have a high pulse pressure (a measure for high blood pressure) are more likely to have the biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease in their spinal fluid said the researchers.

Alzheimer’s is quite prevalent in the Caribbean.

The biomarkers identified in the study which was published in the journal Neurology include that the P-tau protein was defective and no longer able to stabilize microtubes; tangles were observed with twisted strands of protein in dead or dying cells as well as  beta amyloid plaques built up between nerve cells. These markers were all

According to Daniel A. Nation, of the VA San Diego Healthcare System and study author, says:

“These results suggest that the forces involved in blood circulation may be related to the development of the hallmark Alzheimer’s disease signs that cause loss of brain cells”.

“This is consistent with findings indicating that high blood pressure in middle age is a better predictor of later problems with memory and thinking skills and loss of brain cells than high blood pressure in old age,” he says.

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