Vermont Center for Cardiovascular and Brain Health

Crippled Cerebral Blood Flow Regulation in Chronic Hypertension 

Research Summary: Cerebral blood flow is exquisitely controlled to meet the diverse and ever-changing demands of active neurons throughout the brain. This moment-to-moment adjustment of local blood flow, observed as increased cerebral blood flow within active regions of brain, is known as functional hyperemia. Dr. Koide’s recent work has demonstrated a novel signaling pathway, capillary-to-arteriole electrical signaling, which is a major contributor to functional hyperemia. Her proposed research will examine 1) the impact of chronic hypertension on functional hyperemia, specifically on capillary-to-arteriole electrical signaling, and 2) the molecular mechanism of impaired functional hyperemia, centering on plasma aldosterone as a crucial player, in a murine model of polygenic hypertension. Hypertension is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and affects an estimated 80 million people in the United States and 1 billion individuals worldwide. Although a growing body of evidence indicates that hypertension attenuates functional hyperemia, and contributes to impaired cognitive function in humans as well as in hypertensive animals, the mechanisms underlying this pathophysiological process have yet to be elucidated.