Key cause of restricted blood flow to the brain in vascular dementia discovered

Groundbreaking new research has uncovered a potential route to developing the first ever drug treatments for vascular dementia, that directly target a cause of the condition. The research, has shed light on how high blood pressure causes changes to arteries in the brain, a process that leads to the devastating condition.

The study, from researchers at the Geoffrey Jefferson Brain Research Centre at The University of Manchester, reveals that – in mice – high blood pressure disrupts messaging within artery cells in the brain. They found that this occurs when two cell structures, that normally help transmit messages that tell arteries to dilate, move further apart. This stops the messages reaching their target, which causes the arteries to remain permanently constricted, limiting blood flow to the brain.

By identifying drugs that could restore this communication, the researchers hope to soon be able to improve blood supply to affected areas of the brain and slow the progression of vascular dementia.

While the findings are yet to be confirmed in humans, the processes of blood vessel narrowing and widening are very similar in mice and humans. The researchers are now investigating drugs that could restore this signalling, which they hope, in future will lead to human studies that aim to restore healthy brain blood flow in vascular dementia.

Reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Uncoupling of Ca2+ sparks from BK channels in cerebral arteries underlies hypoperfusion in hypertension-induced vascular dementia, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2307513120