OBJECTIVE

To study the severity and localization of dilated perivascular spaces (DPVS), the levels of protein markers of amyloidosis and neurodegeneration in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) at different daily blood pressure (BP) profiles in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other types of cognitive impairment.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 119 people, aged 53 to 92 years, including 55 patients with AD, 27 patients with vascular cognitive disorders (VCD), 19 patients with frontotemporal degeneration (FTD). All patients underwent BP monitoring for 24 hours using a standard oscillometric measurement method, lumbar puncture to assess Aβ-42 and Aβ-40 amyloid protein, total and phosphorylated tau protein in the CSF, magnetic resonance imaging tomography of the brain with subsequent assessment of the severity of expansion and localization of DPVS according to the G.M. Potter scale.

RESULTS

In 58.3% of patients with AD, there is no adequate reduction in BP at night in comparison with patients with VCD (p<0.05). A significant degree of expansion of the DPVS turned out to be most typical for patients with AD: grade 3 was detected in 45.7% of patients, and the maximum, grade 4, was detected in 13.4%. At the same time, DPVSs were significantly more often detected in the group of subjects with insufficient reduction in diastolic BP (DBP) at night. A strong inverse correlation was established between the level of Aβ-42 in the CSF and the variability of DBP at night (r= –0.92; p<0.05). The decrease in the level of Aβ-42 in AD, especially at the prodromal stage, is directly related to the low variability of DBP at night, which is more characteristic of an insufficient decrease or increase in BP during night sleep.

CONCLUSION

Patients with AD were characterized by an insufficient decrease in BP at night, which is associated with the severity and degree of maximum expansion of the DPVS. A decrease in the level of Aβ-42 amyloid protein in the CSF strongly correlates with the variability of DBP at night.