Research summary
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, often occurs alongside diabetes and can lead to stroke as well as heart disease and other heart-related problems. Diabetes and hypertension also increase the risk of small-vessel disease and dementia.
As Canada Research Chair in Clinical Pharmacology of Cognitive Neurovascular Disorders, Dr. Walter Swardfager is studying how midlife vascular and metabolic risk factors, like hypertension and diabetes, damage the small vessels that supply blood to the brain. He and his research team aim to better understand how these two conditions collude to cause cognitive decline. Their research will provide more complete disease models and identify specific molecular pathways that can be targeted to preserve cognitive performance and prevent dementia.