Impaired cerebral blood flow may contribute to the mild deficits in memory and other cognitive functions in people with hypertension, compared with their normotensive peers, according to J.R. Jennings, Ph.D., of the University of Pittsburgh, and associates.
The researchers assessed regional cerebral blood flow using MRI and PET brain scans in 37 hypertensive and 59 normotensive subjects (median age 60 years) who performed a battery of memory and sensorimotor tasks. The blood flow response to performance demands was significantly blunted in certain areas of the brain in hypertensive subjects, who also showed mild deficits in performance, compared with the normotensive subjects (Neurology 2005;64:1358–65).
“Our results are far from conclusive but suggest that vascular factors may play a role” in mild memory and cognitive deficits seen in hypertensive people, the researchers said. Moreover, the findings show that common systemic diseases such as hypertension can have unanticipated effects on brain function, they added.