Investigating the effect of hypertension on vascular cognitive impairment by using the resting-state functional...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cardiology
• Gerontology

Background:

• Hypertension (HTN) affects over 1.2 billion globally, defined as systolic blood pressure (BP) ≥ 140 mmHg and diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg.
• HTN is a major risk factor for cerebrovascular diseases, potentially leading to vascular cognitive impairment (VCI).
• VCI presents as executive dysfunction, a transitional stage to vascular dementia, necessitating reliable diagnostic methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate alterations in the resting-state functional connectome in hypertensive individuals with VCI.
• To identify specific brain regions affected by VCI in the context of hypertension.
• To correlate neuroimaging findings with observed cognitive deficits.

Main Methods:

• Utilized amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) to assess spontaneous brain activity.
• Employed graph theoretical analysis (GTA) and network-based statistic (NBS) to analyze functional connectivity.
• Compared 28 hypertensive patients (51-83 yrs) with 28 healthy controls (51-75 yrs).

Main Results:

• Hypertensive individuals showed reduced spontaneous activity in metabolically compromised areas and enhanced activity in somatosensory and prefrontal cortex.
• Cognitive deficits were observed in executive function, processing speed, and memory in the HTN group.
• GTA and NBS revealed complex local segregation, impaired global integration, and weakened functional connectivity in HTN.

Conclusions:

• Resting-state functional connectivity is significantly altered in hypertensive individuals with potential VCI.
• Alterations are particularly prominent in the frontal and parietal brain regions.
• Findings highlight the impact of hypertension on brain networks and cognitive function.