Potential link between pulse pressure and dementia onset found

Pulse pressure and neurodegeneration in relation to the onset of dementia seem to be associated, according to Daniel A. Nation, Ph.D., and his associates.

Regardless of age, patients with a positive cerebrospinal fluid phosphorylated tau (p-tau) biomarker also had a higher pulse pressure than did those with a negative p-tau biomarker. In patients aged 80-91 years, pulse pressure was elevated even higher in those who had both positive p-tau and beta-amyloid biomarkers. A higher pulse pressure at baseline for very old patients was also correlated with a faster progression to dementia.

The “study findings underscore the importance of the vascular contribution to neurodegeneration in the very old population and suggest a potential relationship between vascular aging and both tau-mediated neurodegeneration and concomitant cerebral amyloidosis in this population,” the investigators concluded.Find the full study in JAMA Neurology (doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.4477).