New research on mice led by Manchester Scientists has shed light on how high blood pressure causes changes to arteries in the brain, a process that leads to vascular dementia.
The research, funded by the British Heart Foundation and published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science has uncovered a route to developing the first ever drug treatments for vascular dementia that directly target a cause of the condition.
Researchers hope the discovery will accelerate development of treatments for the condition which affects around 150,000 people in the UK
High blood pressure is the main cause of vascular dementia, a condition characterised by poor blood flow to the brain. The reduced blood supply starves brain cells of nutrients and over time they become damaged and die. Symptoms of vascular dementia include loss of energy, lack of concentration and poor memory.
It’s normal for the brain’s arteries to narrow and widen in response to changes in blood pressure. However, consistently high blood pressure causes arteries to stay narrow and restrict the brain’s blood supply. Until now, it was not known why.
The study, from researchers at the Geoffrey Jefferson Brain Research Centre at The University of Manchester, reveals that – in mice – high blood pressure disrupts messaging within artery cells in the brain. Messages that should tell the artery to dilate to allow more blood to flow through aren’t able to reach their target, leaving arteries permanently constricted.
By identifying drugs that could restore this communication, the researchers hope to soon be able to improve blood supply to affected areas of the brain and slow the progression of vascular dementia.
Professor Adam Greenstein, a clinician scientist specialising in high blood pressure at the University of Manchester and one of the leaders of the research, said:
“By uncovering how high blood pressure causes arteries in the brain to remain constricted, our research reveals a new avenue for drug discovery that may help to find the first treatment for vascular dementia. Allowing blood to return as normal to damaged areas of the brain will crucial to stopping this devastating condition in its tracks.
“Any drugs that are discovered to improve brain blood supply may also be able to open a new line of attack in treating Alzheimer’s disease, which causes very similar damage to blood vessels as vascular dementia. Drugs to restore healthy blood flow could make current treatments, which focus on removing harmful amyloid plaques in the brain, more effective.“
