{"id":3778,"date":"2019-01-28T17:03:00","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T16:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-kompetenznetz-2025.p695186.webspaceconfig.de\/news\/even-a-slight-increase-in-blood-pressure-above-the-normal-value-is-associated-with-a-decrease-in-the-gray-matter-of-the-brain\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T17:36:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T16:36:57","slug":"even-a-slight-increase-in-blood-pressure-above-the-normal-value-is-associated-with-a-decrease-in-the-gray-matter-of-the-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kompetenznetz-schlaganfall.de\/en\/news\/even-a-slight-increase-in-blood-pressure-above-the-normal-value-is-associated-with-a-decrease-in-the-gray-matter-of-the-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"Even a slight increase in blood pressure above the normal value is associated with a decrease in the gray matter of the brain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is shown by a study conducted by the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS) under the direction of Prof. Arno Villringer and in cooperation with the Kompetenznetz Schlaganfall and published on January 23, 2019 in the online edition of Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN).As the scientists at the MPI CBS in Leipzig found out, people with blood pressure above normal had lower gray matter in certain areas of the brain more often than people with normal blood pressure. Healthy blood pressure is below 120\/80 millimeters of mercury (mmHg). Elevated blood pressure is above 140\/90 mmHg. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

“Previously, the assumption was that brain damage associated with years of high blood pressure was an obvious consequence of this condition, but our study suggests that even minor changes in the gray matter of the brain can be observed in young adults who have never been diagnosed with high blood pressure. “, says study author Arno Villringer. “Further research is needed to determine whether this can increase the risk of stroke, dementia or other cerebrovascular diseases later in life.” <\/p>\n\n

Villringer adds that the research could also help to determine whether, when and how blood pressure above normal should be monitored and controlled in young adults. Lina Schaare, first author and researcher in Arno Villringer’s team, analyzed the extensive data set for the study. 423 people with an average age of 28 took part in the study and underwent at least one MRI brain scan and blood pressure measurement. Forty-one percent of the participants had normal blood pressure, 29 percent had blood pressure between 120\/80 and 129\/84, 19 percent between 130\/85 and 139\/89, and 11 percent had high blood pressure. <\/p>\n\n

“Our measurements show: People with blood pressure above normal were more likely to have lower gray matter volume in areas of the brain including the frontal and parietal lobes – sections of the cerebrum, as well as the hippocampus, amygdala and thalamus,” she explains. The effects were present even when blood pressure was considered as a continuous measurement, showing that the higher the systolic or diastolic blood pressure reading, the lower the gray matter volume. Systolic blood pressure is the value that occurs while the heart is pumping – because then more pressure is exerted. The blood pressure that arises while the heart is relaxing is given as the diastolic pressure. <\/p>\n\n

“Although the study does not prove that above-normal blood pressure causes these gray matter changes in the brain, this study suggests that treating high blood pressure or maintaining lower blood pressure in early adulthood may be essential to preventing the cascade of silent brain changes without symptoms from leading to ultimately harmful organ conditions such as stroke and dementia,” Villringer said.<\/p>\n\n

(Source: Press release of the MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is shown by a study conducted by the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS) under the direction of Prof. Arno Villringer and in cooperation with the Kompetenznetz Schlaganfall and published on January 23, 2019 in the online edition of Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN).As … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kompetenznetz-schlaganfall.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kompetenznetz-schlaganfall.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kompetenznetz-schlaganfall.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kompetenznetz-schlaganfall.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kompetenznetz-schlaganfall.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3778"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kompetenznetz-schlaganfall.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3779,"href":"https:\/\/www.kompetenznetz-schlaganfall.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3778\/revisions\/3779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kompetenznetz-schlaganfall.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kompetenznetz-schlaganfall.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kompetenznetz-schlaganfall.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}