Hypertension Damages Neurons Three Days Before Symptoms Appear 0 8

Hypertension triggers brain damage long before blood pressure rises. This conclusion was reached by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, who for the first time traced the development of disorders at the level of individual cells. The results of the study were published in Neuron.

The scientists modeled hypertension in mice using angiotensin II—a hormone involved in regulating pressure. They then analyzed 80,000 cells from the cerebral cortex using single-cell RNA sequencing three days after the onset of exposure and again after 42 days, when cognitive impairments were already clearly manifested.

On the third day—when blood pressure was still normal—marked changes began in the brain. Endothelial cells transitioned to "premature aging" and lost the ability to maintain the vascular barrier. Interneurons, which manage the balance of excitation, reduced their activity, creating disruptions in neural network function. Meanwhile, oligodendrocyte precursor cells ceased to mature, which later impaired the formation of myelin sheaths.

By the 42nd day, the impairments intensified: signal conduction speed decreased, mitochondrial dysfunction in neurons appeared, and noticeable cognitive disorders emerged.

The authors emphasize that the damage is not triggered by the increase in pressure itself, but by the direct action of angiotensin II on brain cells. This explains why cognitive impairments in patients with hypertension develop even at moderate blood pressure levels.