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

This is the first time that a single step has been clearly shown to help prevent a dreaded condition that has had people trying crossword puzzles, dietary supplements and a crowd of people. other things in the hope of

In the study, people treated with blood pressure greater than 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 the 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, scheduled later this year.

Independent experts cheered the news.

"We have long known that high blood pressure is bad for your heart.Now we also learn that it is bad for your brain," said James Hendrix, director of global scientific initiatives at Alzheimer Association

THE BRAIN-BLOOD PRESSURE LINK

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

About half of adults in the United States suffer from high blood pressure according to the adopted guidelines. 39, or more, than 140. Normal is less than 120.

High blood pressure can damage blood vessels and has long been associated with a higher risk of dementia. I do not know if lowering the pressure would reduce this risk or by how much. The federally funded study was designed to test this in the most rigorous way.

ABOUT THE STUDY

This involved more than 9,300 people under intense 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 tests continued for two years and the results were revealed Wednesday.

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

"It is really more important to prevent MCI than dementia in some ways.It is like preventing high cholesterol rather than having a heart attack."

There was also fewer cases of dementia in the intensive treatment group, but there was too little to say that blood pressure was the cause. Dementia takes longer to develop than mild impairment, so doctors think the difference can widen over time.

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

LOW TO GO?

Previous results of this study led to a change in last fall's guidelines, setting a high pressure at 130. Some doctors criticized this as too aggressive, but the new findings, showing benefits for the brain, perhaps even extend the guidelines, "said Williamson." The goal of less than 130 is extremely important. "

The study did not test the Specific blood pressure medications.On the other hand, each participant's doctor chose which ones to use from among more than a dozen available.

When heart outcomes were announced a few years ago, doctors have 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 a lower risk of pr

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

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