Antihypertensive medications ameliorate Alzheimer's disease pathology by slowing its propagation

Mounting evidence supports an association between antihypertensive medication use and reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Consensus on possible pathological mechanisms remains elusive.

Human brain tissue from a cohort followed to autopsy that included 96 cases of AD (46 medicated for hypertension) and 53 pathological controls (33 also medicated) matched for cerebrovascular disease was available from the New South Wales Brain Banks. Quantified frontal cortex amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau proteins plus Alzheimer's neuropathologic change scores were analyzed.

Univariate analyses found no difference in amounts of AD proteins in the frontal cortex between medication users, but multivariate analyses showed that antihypertensive medication use was associated with a less extensive spread of AD proteins throughout the brain.

The heterogeneous nature of the antihypertensive medications is consistent with downstream beneficial effects of blood pressure lowering and/or management being associated with the reduced spreading of AD pathology observed.