美國加州大學(xué)戴維斯分校研究人員日前發(fā)表報告說，他們的研究結(jié)果顯示,，高血壓會加速中年患者大腦老化的進(jìn)程,。
該研究對象包括579名中年人,，2009年參與研究時他們的平均年齡為39歲,。根據(jù)受試者血壓狀況,，他們被分為3組：正常血壓組、臨近患高血壓組和高血壓組,。研究人員利用磁共振成像儀確定受試者的大腦健康狀況,。
研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，高血壓患者的大腦健康狀況明顯不及血壓正常者——高血壓組受試者大腦額葉各向異性比血壓正常者平均低6.5％,，前葉和顳葉灰質(zhì)容量平均低9％,；高血壓患者的大腦看起來“更老”，例如,，一名33歲典型高血壓患者的大腦與40歲血壓正常者的大腦相似,。
研究人員沒有提出造成這種損傷的機(jī)制，不過他們指出,，高血壓會導(dǎo)致動脈硬化，進(jìn)而減少了流向大腦的血流,，大腦獲得的氧氣和營養(yǎng)也相應(yīng)降低,。
相關(guān)研究報告已發(fā)表在英國《柳葉刀·神經(jīng)病學(xué)》雜志網(wǎng)絡(luò)版上。研究負(fù)責(zé)人,、戴維斯分校神經(jīng)病學(xué)教授查爾斯·德卡利表示,，這項(xiàng)研究傳遞的信息很清楚：年輕時就了解并治療自己的高血壓可以避免其影響晚年時的大腦健康。（生物谷Bioon.com）
doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(12)70241-7
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Effects of systolic blood pressure on white-matter integrity in young adults in the Framingham Heart Study: a cross-sectional study
Maillard P, Seshadri S, Beiser A, Himali JJ, Au R, Fletcher E, Carmichael O, Wolf PA, Decarli C.
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have identified effects of age and vascular risk factors on brain injury in elderly individuals. We aimed to establish whether the effects of high blood pressure in the brain are evident as early as the fifth decade of life. METHODS: In an investigation of the third generation of the Framingham Heart Study, we approached all participants in 2009 to ask whether they would be willing to undergo MRI. Consenting patients underwent clinical assessment and cerebral MRI that included T1-weighted and diffusion tensor imaging to obtain estimates of fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, and grey-matter volumes. All images were coregistered to a common minimum deformation template for voxel-based linear regressions relating fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, and grey-matter volumes to age and systolic blood pressure, with adjustment for potential confounders. FINDINGS: 579 (14·1%) of 4095 participants in the third-generation cohort (mean age 39·2 years, SD 8·4) underwent brain MRI between June, 2009 and June, 2010. Age was associated with decreased fractional anisotropy and increased mean diffusivity in almost all cerebral white-matter voxels. Age was also independently associated with reduced grey-matter volumes. Increased systolic blood pressure was linearly associated with decreased regional fractional anisotropy and increased mean diffusivity, especially in the anterior corpus callosum, the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculi, and the fibres that project from the thalamus to the superior frontal gyrus. It was also strongly associated with reduced grey-matter volumes, particularly in Brodmann's area 48 on the medial surface of the temporal lobe and Brodmann's area 21 of the middle temporal gyrus. INTERPRETATION: Our results suggest that subtle vascular brain injury develops insidiously during life, with discernible effects even in young adults. These findings emphasise the need for early and optimum control of blood pressure. FUNDING: National Institutes of Health and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institute on Aging; and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
