Study: Lowering blood pressure helps prevent mental decline

CHICAGO (AP) – Lowering blood pressure more than usual, not only helps prevent heart problems, but also to cut the risk of mental decline that often leads to Alzheimer's disease, finds a major study.

This is the first time that a single step has been clearly demonstrated to help prevent a dreaded disease that has caused people to try crosswords, additions of other things in the world. Hope to keep their minds clean.

In the study, people who had blood pressure of 120 instead of 140 were 19% less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment. They also had fewer signs of damage to brain scans, and there was a possible trend towards fewer cases of dementia.

"This is a big breakthrough," said Dr. Jeff Williamson of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina. "It's more important than ever to work with your doctor to ensure you have good control over your blood pressure."

He led the study and gave results on Wednesday at the International Alzheimer's & Conference Association in Chicago. They are considered preliminary until their publication, expected later this year.

Independent experts cheered the news.

"We have long known that high blood pressure is bad for your brain," said James Hendrix, director of global scientific initiatives at the Alzheimer's Association

THE BRAIN-PRESSURE BRAIN

About 50 million people in the world have dementia, and Alzheimer's disease is the most common type.There is no cure – current medications such as Aricept and Namenda relieve simply symptoms – prevention is so essential.

About half of adults in the United States suffer from high blood pressure according to guidelines adopted last year or more, rather than 140. Normal is less than 120.

High blood pressure can damage blood vessels and has long been badociated with a higher risk of dementia, but it is unclear whether lowering the pressure would reduce this risk or increase the risk of dementia. The federally funded study was designed to test this in the most rigorous way.

ABOUT THE STUDY

It involved more than 9,300 people at high pressure. Half of them received two medications, on average, to get their best score below 140. The rest received three medications, on average, and aimed at 120. During the study, the average pressure was 121 in the intensive treatment group and 135 in the other.

The study was stopped in 2015, almost two years earlier, when it became clear that a lower pressure was helping to prevent heart problems and deaths. But the results of these tests continued for two years and these results were revealed on Wednesday

. The researchers saw the risk of mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, decrease by 19% in the intensive treatment group – 285 cases versus 348 the higher pressure group. Nearly half of people with MCI develop dementia over the next five years.

"It's really more important to prevent MCI than dementia, it's like preventing hypercholesterolemia rather than heart attack." There was also less case of dementia in the intensive treatment group, but there was too little to say that low blood pressure was the reason. Dementia takes longer than mild impairment, doctors think the difference can widen over time.

MRIs performed on 454 participants showed that those in the lower pressure group had fewer white matter lesions. Laurie Ryan, a dementia scientist at the National Institute on Aging, said, "This fits" with other findings on thinking skills and reinforces the evidence that lowering blood pressure helps to do so .

Earlier results of this study led to changes in guidelines last fall, establishing a high pressure at 130. Some doctors criticized this as too aggressive, but the new findings, showing benefits for the brain, "support and even extend the guidelines," Williamson said. "The goal of less than 130 is extremely important."

The study did not test specific blood pressure drugs. Instead, each participant's doctor chose which ones to use from among more than a dozen available.

When cardiac outcomes were announced a few years ago, doctors said that too low pressure, fainting and some kidney problems were a little more In the intensively treated group, these risks were considered to be worth the benefit of 39, a lower risk of heart problems and death.

Getting to the lower level meant using one more drug, and "90% of them are generic and cost less. that one dollar a day, "said Williamson." For a modest cost, this has a huge health benefit for people. "

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Marilynn Marchione can be followed on Twitter at The Associated Press The Department of Health and Science is receiving support from the Department of Science Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. AP alone is responsible for all content.