Changes in Cerebral Blood Flow and Dementia

The main goal is to understand how changes in the blood flow in the neck arteries might lead to dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.

In this study, we aim to uncover how blood flow in the carotid arteries affects the development of dementia. Over the last years, the role of vascular disease in the carotid arteries in the development of dementia has been repeatedly emphasized. We believe that biomechanical forces may trigger processes that lead to vascular disease in these vessels, affect brain blood supply, and dementia. Through complex computer simulations to understand the flow of blood in the carotid arteries, we will study a large group of people to find links between these biomechanical forces and the risk of dementia.

This research is unique because it focuses on how both blood flow mechanics and traditional health factors work together to affect brain health, using data from a large group of community-dwelling people. Experts from many different fields—like neurology, medical imaging, and engineering—are teaming up to understand what causes conditions like dementia and artery disease in the brain. This approach could lead to better ways to predict who is at risk for memory problems in the future.

This study could lead to exciting new ways to study what causes dementia by combining detailed 3D models of arteries with a wide range of health data from many people. It may also help scientists better understand how blood flow affects artery disease and how that connects to brain decline. In the long run, this could give doctors new tools to spot people at higher risk of developing dementia before symptoms appear.