Abstract
BackgroundChronic increased arterial blood pressure has been associated with executive dysfunction, slowing of attention and mental processing speed, and later with memory deficits. Due to the absence of a concrete therapeutic approach to this pathophysiological process, in the last decades there has been an increasing interest in the use of nutraceuticals, especially those with antioxidant properties, which own strong neuroprotective potential, that may help to improve cognitive function and to delay the onset of dementia.ResultsWe evaluated the effects of the treatment with a new nutraceutical preparation containing different molecules with potent antioxidant properties (AkP05, IzzeK®) and placebo on a cohort of thirty-six hypertensive patients. At baseline, neuropsychological evaluation, arterial stiffness and biochemical parameters of the subjects were comparable. After 6 months of treatment, there was a significant reduction of the augmentation index in the AkP05-treated group. Moreover, the measurement of cognitive function, evaluated with MoCA test and Word Match Testing, showed a significant improvement in patients receiving the active treatment. In addition, the group treated with nutraceutical reached a better Stroop test score, while subjects that received placebo did not showed any improvement. Finally, a positive relationship between SBP variation and the psychometric assessment with the EQ-VAS scale was observed only in the active treatment group.ConclusionsIn this study, we demonstrated that the therapy with a new nutraceutical preparation is able to significantly increase the scores of important neuropsychological tests in hypertensive patients already on satisfactory blood pressure control. Although future studies are needed to better characterize the molecular mechanisms involved, these results candidate the new nutraceutical combination as a possible therapeutic strategy to support the cerebrovascular functions and delay the onset of dementia in hypertensive patients.
Highlights
Chronic increased arterial blood pressure has been associated with executive dysfunction, slowing of attention and mental processing speed, and later with memory deficits
All the variables resulted unchanged in both placebo and active treatment groups, with respect to the baseline condition (Table 2), with the exception of augmentation index (AI) which was significantly reduced in Placebo (n = 18)
Taking into consideration the fact that the battery of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) tests comprises a series of assessments capable to discriminate among different cognitive domains
Summary
Chronic increased arterial blood pressure has been associated with executive dysfunction, slowing of attention and mental processing speed, and later with memory deficits. Due to the absence of a concrete therapeutic approach to this pathophysiological process, in the last decades there has been an increasing interest in the use of nutraceuticals, especially those with antioxidant properties, which own strong neuroprotective potential, that may help to improve cognitive function and to delay the onset of dementia. In consideration of the lack of effective treatments and the demographic conditions shifting the population toward older adults, the incidence of dementia is predicted to exponentially increase in the Giugliano et al Immunity & Ageing (2018) 15:7 cerebrovascular homeostasis can determine a failure in the mechanisms responsible for the clearance of Aβ from the brain [4,5,6]. The definition of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) predicts to recapitulate a wide range of cognitive deficits caused by vascular factors, and contributing to the development of later dementia, a condition where cognitive decline is irreversible and impairs even day-to-day functioning [7]. The intertwining of cerebrovascular diseases and AD can be inferred from the neuropathological hallmarks of the two conditions, showing amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles and microvascular and ischemic lesions
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