In a first, brain areas damaged by high blood pressure are identified

This included magnetic resonance imaging of brains, genetic analyses, observational data from over 30,000 participants in the UK Biobank study, and a technique called Mendelian randomization to see if high blood pressure was actually the cause of changes to specific parts of the brain rather than just being associated with these changes.

This helped them identify areas affected, including the putamen (round structure in the base of the front of the brain, responsible for regulating movement and influencing various types of learning) and specific white matter regions.

"We thought these areas might be where high blood pressure affects cognitive function, such as memory loss, thinking skills, and dementia. When we checked our findings by studying a group of patients in Italy who had high blood pressure, we found that the parts of the brain we had identified were indeed affected," Guzik said in a statement.

The findings could help with developing targeted therapies

The researchers found that nine parts of the brain were altered, and those were related to higher blood pressure and worse cognitive function.

These included the putamen, the anterior thalamic radiation, the anterior corona radiata, and the anterior limb of the internal capsule, which are regions of white matter that connect and enable signaling between different brain parts. While the anterior thalamic radiation is involved in executive functions, such as planning simple and complex daily tasks, the other two involve decision-making and managing emotions.

The changes observed were "decreases in brain volume and the amount of surface area on the brain cortex, changes to connections between different parts of the brain, and changes in measures of brain activity."

"By looking at these specific brain regions, we may be able to predict who will develop memory loss and dementia faster in the context of high blood pressure. This could help with precision medicine so that we can target more intensive therapies to prevent the development of cognitive impairment in patients most at risk," Guzik said.

The researchers caution that participants in the UK Biobank study are mainly white and middle-aged, so it might not be possible to generalize the findings to older people.