This study aimed to investigate the influence of 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (BP) on cognitive function and neuropathological biomarkers in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) at the stages of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia.
The patients with AD were divided into the MCI (AD-MCI) group and the dementia (AD-D) group. Notably, 24-h BP variables, including BP level, coefficient of variation (CV) of BP, and pulse pressure, were collected and compared between the two groups. The correlations between 24-h BP variables and the scores of cognitive domains were analyzed. The independent influencing factors of cognitive domains of patients with AD were investigated. The levels of neuropathological biomarkers of AD, including β amyloid (Aβ)1−42, phosphorylated tau (P-tau), and total tau (T-tau), in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were measured and compared between the two groups, and the correlations between 24-h BP variables and the levels of neuropathological biomarkers of AD were analyzed.
Daytime CV of systolic BP (SBP) was significantly increased in the AD-D group compared to that in the AD-MCI group. The 24-h and daytime CV of SBP and ambulatory pulse pressure were significantly and negatively correlated with memory score. The average 24-h and average daytime SBP level and CV of SBP, daytime CV of diastolic BP (DBP), and 24-h, daytime, and night-time ambulatory pulse pressure were significantly and negatively correlated with language score. The average 24-h SBP level, daytime CV of SBP, and 24-h, daytime, and night-time ambulatory pulse pressure were significantly and negatively correlated with attention score. Further analysis indicated that daytime CV of SBP as well as age and course of disease were the independent influencing factors of language. Age was also the independent influencing factor of memory and attention of patients with AD. T-tau level in CSF in the AD-D group was significantly higher than that in the AD-MCI group, but the levels of Aβ1−42, P-tau, and T-tau in CSF were not correlated with 24-h ambulatory BP variables.
Daytime CV of SBP was the independent influencing factor of language in patients with AD. The AD-D patients had significantly severe neurodegeneration than AD-MCI patients, which was, however, not through the influence of 24-h ambulatory BP variables on neuropathological biomarkers of AD.