Nov 26, 2025
3 min read
Hypertension causes damage to brain cells long before blood pressure rises, revealing the risk of memory loss and cognitive impairment early.
Most people hear the word high blood pressure and think of heart problems.Doctors warned us of damaged arteries, strokes and heart attacks.
What most people don't realize is that the brain begins to experience stress long before anyone sees an increase in blood pressure on a clinic screen.
New research shows that small changes inside the brain cause problems early on, and that those changes can set the stage for years of memory loss.
Scientists have long suspected that because people with hypertension are at higher risk of cognitive impairment.
The link was clear, but the reason behind it was not.Many drugs lower blood pressure, but patients still have memory problems.This forces researchers to look deeper.
After digging into the biology of the brain, a team at Ull Cornell Medicine found that blood is eaten before blood grows.
The researchers studied mice to find out what happens inside individual cells during the early stages of high blood pressure.
The researchers induced high blood pressure in mice by giving them angiotensin, a hormone that increases blood pressure.They examined the animals' brains three days later and again after 42 days.At the initial time point, the blood pressure had not yet risen, but the brain was already showing problems.
Endothelial cells, which line blood vessels, appeared older than they should.Their energy metabolism dropped and they showed signs of senescence, meaning they stopped dividing.
Researchers also found an earlier onset of weakening of the blood-brain barrier.This barrier normally protects the brain from harmful substances.
Internions are also affected.These cells help communicate between the sensory home and the motor home.When they become a problem, the right idea and symptom are shown - the imbalance causes Alzheimer's disease.
The third group of oligodendrocytes struck early.These cells make myelin, the protective covering around the nerve fibers.
When the genes that maintain and replace myelin do not activate properly, neurons lose their ability to communicate.
This loss ultimately affects thinking and memory.Then, at day 42, there were even more changes in gene expression and the mice showed cognitive decline.
The researchers found that key cells responsible for cognitive impairment were affected just three days after hypertension in mice, before blood pressure increased.
"The rationale is something other than blood pressure dysregulation," said Dr. Anthony Pacholko, associate professor of neuroscience at Weill Cornell, who co-authored the paper."The magnitude of the early changes caused by hypertension was quite surprising."
"Understanding how high blood pressure affects the brain at the cellular and molecular level during the early stages of the disease may help develop therapeutic strategies to combat the progression of neurodegeneration in people with high blood pressure."
Patients with high blood pressure have a 1.2-1.5 times greater risk of developing complications than those who do not have this disease.
The team tested Lostartan, an antihypertensive medication already in use.Blocks angiotensin angiotensin.
"In some human studies, data suggest that angiotensin receptor inhibitors may be more beneficial for cognitive health than other drugs that lower blood pressure," said Dr. Costantino Ladecola, director of the Phil Family Brain and Mind Institute at Cornell University.
In this study, losartan reversed the early effects of stroke-associated hypertension in endothelial cells and in mice.This finding gives doctors a reason to think more carefully about drugs that may have benefits beyond heart protection.
"High blood pressure is the main cause of heart and kidney damage, which can be prevented with antihypertensive medications. Therefore, treating high blood pressure is a priority in all cases, regardless of cognitive function," said Dr.Ladecola.
The team aims to find out how the aging of the small blood vessels damages the neurons and oligodendrocytes.
The scientists plan to hold these connections together to find out if the brain can be protected before the set is damaged.
Hypertension affects millions of people.Many live with the condition for years without symptoms, and the brain can suffer much sooner than expected.Research like this could one day help doctors prevent cognitive decline before it starts.
A full version of the study is published in the journal Neuron.
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