Reducing Cardiovascular Risk Factor Also Reduces Incidence of Neurodegenerative Disease
It is well known that the aging of the vasculature contributes to the aging of the brain. The brain requires a great deal of energy to operate, and the nutrients and oxygen needed for optimal brain metabolism are supplied in the bloodstream. With age, capillary density declines, the heart becomes weaker, and blood vessels are narrowed by the development of atherosclerotic lesions. All of this combines to reduce the delivery of nutrients to the brain, and its metabolism suffers as a result. Here, researchers present additional evidence to support this view of the impact of cardiovascular aging on brain aging.
Cardiovascular disease and dementia frequently occur together in elderly people. Nevertheless, few longitudinal studies have examined how atherosclerosis and its associated risk factors affect brain health from middle age. Now, a new study provides data on this relationship; the results confirm the importance of controlling traditional cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle, not only to preserve cardiovascular health, but also to prevent Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.
In 2021,scientists discovered that the presence of cardiovascular risk factors and subclinical (presymptomatic) atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries (the arteries that supply the brain) was associated with lower glucose metabolism in the brains of apparently healthy 50-year-old participants in the PESA-CNIC-Santander study. Glucose metabolism in the brain is considered an indicator of brain health. Glucose is the main energy source for neurons and other brain cells. The PESA-CNIC-Santander study is a prospective study that includes more than 4,000 asymptomatic middle-aged participants who have been exhaustively assessed for the presence and progression of subclinical atherosclerosis since 2010.
Researchers have continued to monitor the cerebral health of these participants over 5 years. Their research shows that individuals who maintained a high cardiovascular risk throughout this period had a more pronounced reduction in cerebral glucose metabolism, detected using imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET). "In participants with a sustained high cardiovascular risk, the decline in cerebral metabolism was three times greater than in participants who maintained a low cardiovascular risk. The individuals showing this metabolic decline already show signs of neuronal injury."