University of Utah launches landmark study linking blood pressure and brain health

[Sly Saint]

In six massive laboratory freezers at the University of Utah, nearly 40,000 blood samples wait in frozen stasis.

They represent four years of data from one of the largest studies of hypertension in the U.S.: an intensive blood pressure intervention study called the SPRINT trial. And hidden in many of these blood samples are subtle chemical signals that point to their donors' current and future brain health conditions-among them Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, the most common cause of disability among adults over 65.

Now, powered by a $21.6M, five-year National Institutes of Health grant, researchers are poised to unlock this informational treasure trove and uncover the connections between hypertension, Alzheimer's disease, and dementia.

Linking blood pressure to brain health​

High blood pressure is one of the biggest modifiable risk factors for dementia-progressive problems with memory and thinking that interfere with daily life. The most common kind of dementia is Alzheimer's disease, caused by protein buildup in the brain, but dementia can also be caused by problems with the blood vessels in the brain. It's unknown exactly how high blood pressure harms the brain, or how blood pressure management strategies might help.

The project will analyze the vault of blood samples for molecules that specifically herald either Alzheimer's disease or other forms of cognitive decline. The project is funded by the National Institute on Aging, a division of the National Institutes of Health. Adam Bress, PharmD, professor of population health sciences at University of Utah Health, investigator at the VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System, and a principal investigator on the study, explains that the project aims to answer a few big questions:

• "How does lowering blood pressure more intensively affect brain health?
• Does [hypertension treatment] affect brain health through pathways around Alzheimer's disease-protein plaques and tangles-or is it through the blood vessels themselves?
• How does having Alzheimer's pathology in your brain impact how we treat your high blood pressure?"

University of Utah launches landmark study linking blood pressure and brain health

In six massive laboratory freezers at the University of Utah, nearly 40,000 blood samples wait in frozen stasis.

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