High Blood Pressure’s Early Effects on the Brain and Memory | Dr. Costantino Iadecola

Описание: High blood pressure is one of the most common and treatable risk factors for cognitive decline, and researchers are still working to understand exactly how it affects the brain. A preclinical study from Weill Cornell Medicine, published in Neuron, suggests hypertension may trigger early gene expression changes in the brain, affecting neurons, blood vessels, and white matter before there’s any measurable rise in blood pressure.

Dr. Costantino Iadecola, the study’s senior author, is a neurologist and the director of the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine. His research examines how brain blood vessels support cognition and what happens when that system is disrupted by vascular risk factors like hypertension.

In this interview with Being Patient’s Mark Niu, Iadecola explains that in a controlled mouse model, researchers saw changes in blood vessels within days of triggering hypertension. He notes that high blood pressure is part of a broader process that can quietly affect multiple organs, including the brain, before obvious symptoms appear. He also discusses why controlling blood pressure dramatically reduces stroke risk but may not lower dementia risk as much as hoped, suggesting prevention may need to start earlier and be more individualized. For now, he emphasizes improving diet, staying active, and taking medication when appropriate to manage blood pressure.

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Being Patient is an editorially independent journalism outlet for news and reporting about brain health, cognitive science, and neurodegenerative diseases. In our Live Talk series on Facebook, former Wall Street Journal Editor and founder of Being Patient, Deborah Kan, interviews brain health experts and people living with dementia.

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0:10 Guest introduction
2:12 Key finding: hypertension affects vessels, neurons + white matter early
3:20 How the study worked: mouse model + tracking early brain changes
4:37 How early is “early,” and what it means for people
6:54 What past research shows: blood flow, vessel dysfunction + stroke risk
9:17 Hypertension’s link to vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s
13:51 Why lowering BP prevents stroke more than dementia
15:50 When to start treatment: lifestyle vs medication
18:57 If BP is controlled, what other brain-risk factors matter
19:37 Most surprising result: neurons/white matter affected + need for tailored care
21:20 Mice vs humans: how findings may translate
23:36 What’s next: possible “double approach”
26:14 Practical takeaways: diet, exercise, meds—act early