High blood pressure and strokes 'cause cognitive decline'

Scientists in the US have discovered high blood pressure and strokes are greater risk factors in cognitive decline than the amyloid plaques responsible for Alzheimer's disease.

A team from the Alzheimer's Disease Research Centre in California conducted a study, initially to see if there was a link between vascular brain injury and the amount of amyloid-beta deposits in the brain.

They could find no evidence to support this link, but the study did reveal stark differences between the cognitive ability of patients with abnormal levels of amyloid protein and those who had vascular injuries, which are caused by increased blood pressure and strokes.

Dr Bruce Reed, who led the study, noted: "The more vascular brain injury the participants had, the worse their memory and the worse their executive function - their ability to organise and problem solve."

He suggests this research should encourage doctors to investigate more thoroughly and consider the possibility that a patient's cognitive decline is caused by vascular injury, rather than dementia or Alzheimer's.

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