ID :
42812
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 20:22
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https://oananews.org//node/42812
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High blood pressure has Alzheimer`s link
Better treatment of high blood pressure could halve the number of people who develop Alzheimer's disease.
New Australian research has drawn a clear link between the degenerative mental condition and high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, which afflicts 70 per cent of older Australians.
Hypertension is known to increase the risk of heart attack, but Sydney's Dr Michael Valenzuela says it's now clear sufferers also have a heightened chance of developing Alzheimer's in later life.
"I think there is a fundamental link between Alzheimer's and cardio-vascular disease ... high blood pressure reduces blood flow to the memory part of the brain," Dr Valenzuela says.
"Any kind of reduction of blood flow is going to be negative for brain cells, they are not going to have enough nutrients or ability to get rid of waste products."
He says this could cause breakages in the tiny blood vessels in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory, leading to "micro-bleeding that may kick off the Alzheimer's process".
Dr Valenzuela, a research fellow at the University of NSW's School of Psychiatry, has reviewed 10 years of global dementia-related research, drawing on clinical and also population-based studies.
One of the studies involved a trial of more than 4,500 people aged over 60 who had high blood pressure.
The incidence of later onset of Alzheimer's was halved among those in the group who were on anti-hypertensive drugs.
Dr Valenzuela says further studies confirmed the link.
He says the research shows how government and health authorities can move to address projected rising rates of dementia.
"I believe that addressing blood pressure in the community in a more focused way, in a more effective way, I'd expect that dementia rates would correspondingly fall," he says.
Alzheimer's Australia chief executive John Watkins says 220,000 Australians have been diagnosed with dementia, and most suffer from Alzheimer's disease.
The number is expected to double by 2020 and while the primary cause of Alzheimer's remains unknown, Mr Watkins says the risk factors are now emerging.
"For the first time we've got some very strong research that points us to reducing the incidence of dementia. That's good news for Australia," Mr Watkins says.
New Australian research has drawn a clear link between the degenerative mental condition and high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, which afflicts 70 per cent of older Australians.
Hypertension is known to increase the risk of heart attack, but Sydney's Dr Michael Valenzuela says it's now clear sufferers also have a heightened chance of developing Alzheimer's in later life.
"I think there is a fundamental link between Alzheimer's and cardio-vascular disease ... high blood pressure reduces blood flow to the memory part of the brain," Dr Valenzuela says.
"Any kind of reduction of blood flow is going to be negative for brain cells, they are not going to have enough nutrients or ability to get rid of waste products."
He says this could cause breakages in the tiny blood vessels in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory, leading to "micro-bleeding that may kick off the Alzheimer's process".
Dr Valenzuela, a research fellow at the University of NSW's School of Psychiatry, has reviewed 10 years of global dementia-related research, drawing on clinical and also population-based studies.
One of the studies involved a trial of more than 4,500 people aged over 60 who had high blood pressure.
The incidence of later onset of Alzheimer's was halved among those in the group who were on anti-hypertensive drugs.
Dr Valenzuela says further studies confirmed the link.
He says the research shows how government and health authorities can move to address projected rising rates of dementia.
"I believe that addressing blood pressure in the community in a more focused way, in a more effective way, I'd expect that dementia rates would correspondingly fall," he says.
Alzheimer's Australia chief executive John Watkins says 220,000 Australians have been diagnosed with dementia, and most suffer from Alzheimer's disease.
The number is expected to double by 2020 and while the primary cause of Alzheimer's remains unknown, Mr Watkins says the risk factors are now emerging.
"For the first time we've got some very strong research that points us to reducing the incidence of dementia. That's good news for Australia," Mr Watkins says.
