Cerebrovascular Function Changes May Be Linked to Alzheimer's Disease Risk

Alzheimer's & Dementia, the journal of the Alzheimer's Association (U.S.), recently published a research report by investigators at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and other institutions. The study examined hundreds of elderly people, using non-invasive ultrasound and spectroscopy to track the blood flow velocity in the cerebral arteries and the pressure produced by carbon dioxide molecules in the blood. Mathematical models were then used to integrate these data into five hemodynamic indices measuring the brain's ability to regulate blood flow velocity and oxygen delivery in response to fluctuations in blood pressure and carbon dioxide pressure.

The researchers ultimately found that cerebrovascular function had already declined in Alzheimer's patients before obvious symptoms appeared. This study suggests that reduced cerebrovascular function and insufficient oxygen and nutrient supply to brain tissue may be among the earliest pathological changes.

This finding also brings new inspiration for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. For elderly people with a family history of Alzheimer's, improving cerebrovascular function may delay the onset of the disease.

Alzheimer's disease is one form of senile dementia. In Alzheimer's patients, amyloid plaques appear in the brain and the hippocampus atrophies markedly; these damage the patient's memory and lead to impaired cognition and personality changes. However, if preventive treatment is taken before symptoms appear to improve the patient's cerebrovascular function, the patient's ability to care for themselves and their quality of life in later years will improve.

China currently has 20 million Alzheimer's patients, and by 2050 the country will have 40 million. Alzheimer's disease places a heavy burden on patients' families. Any preventive measure that can delay the onset or reduce the incidence of Alzheimer's can lighten the burden on patients' families and on society. If further research can be carried out along the lines of this finding, its social significance would be enormous.