Pressure Damage to Capillaries and Surrounding Cells in the Brain as a Contributing Cause of Cognitive Decline

Progressive arterial stiffness with age causes hypertension, a state of chronically raised blood pressure, which in turn damages sensitive tissues in the brain and other organs. Over time that means a loss of function and cognitive decline. Researchers here suggest that even without the increase in blood pressure, stiffness in larger blood vessels will redistribute pressure in a way that will harm cells near to smaller capillary vessels. What causes arterial stiffening? A combination of damage and dysfunction such as, for example: persistent cross-links degrade elasticity in the extracellular matrix of blood vessel walls; senescent cells and the chronic inflammation that they cause creates calcification of tissue, as well as poor function of smooth muscle tissue responsible for blood vessel constriction and dilation; mitochondrial dysfunction in smooth muscle cells also contributes. The fact that human memory is deteriorating with increasing age is something that most people experience sooner or later, even among those who avoid diseases such as Alzheimer's. Similarly, a connection between the ageing of the brain and the body is well known. However, the exact nature of this association is not known. Researchers have created an explanatory model that starts with the heartbeat, and carries through the largest arteries in the body all the way to the finest vessels in the brain. An important feature of the model is that it provides a rationale why some cognitive processe...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs