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-...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs