Study: Late-life high blood pressure may harm brain

Decades ago, hundreds of nuns and priests made an extraordinary decision: They agreed to donate their brains upon death to science, hoping to help solve mysteries about Alzheimer’s and other diseases. Now, a study that used their gifts reveals that high blood pressure late in life might harm the brain.

Autopsies on nearly 1,300 older people found more signs of damage and one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of those with higher blood pressure than among those with pressure closer to normal, researchers reported Wednesday.

The study does not prove cause and effect, and it does not yet provide a comparison of rates of dementia or its most common form, Alzheimer’s.

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