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Association of Intensive vs Standard Blood Pressure Control With Magnetic Resonance Imaging Biomarkers of Alzheimer Disease: Secondary Analysis of the SPRINT MIND Randomized Trial
Nasrallah IM, Gaussoin SA, Pomponio R, Dolui S, Erus G, Wright CB, Launer LJ, Detre JA et al.. JAMA neurology, 2021-05-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Importance Meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials have indicated that improved hypertension control reduces the risk for cognitive impairment and dementia. Results Among 673 recruited patients who had baseline MRI (mean [SD] age, 67.3 [8.2] years; 271 women [40.3%]), 454 completed the follow-up MRI at a median (interquartile range) of 3.98 (3.7-4.1) years after randomization. There were no significant treatment group differences for measures of AD regional atrophy, cerebral blood flow, or mean fractional anisotropy. Conclusions and relevance Intensive treatment was associated with a small but statistically significant greater decrease in hippocampal volume compared with standard treatment, consistent with the observation that intensive treatment is associated with greater decreases in total brain volume. However, intensive treatment was not associated with changes in any of the other MRI biomarkers of AD compared with standard treatment.
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APA 7th
Nasrallah, I. M., Gaussoin, S. A., Pomponio, R., Dolui, S., Erus, G., Wright, C. B., et al. (2021). Association of Intensive vs Standard Blood Pressure Control With Magnetic Resonance Imaging Biomarkers of Alzheimer Disease: Secondary Analysis of the SPRINT MIND Randomized Trial. JAMA neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2021.0178
Vancouver
Nasrallah IM, Gaussoin SA, Pomponio R, Dolui S, Erus G, Wright CB, et al. Association of Intensive vs Standard Blood Pressure Control With Magnetic Resonance Imaging Biomarkers of Alzheimer Disease: Secondary Analysis of the SPRINT MIND Randomized Trial. JAMA neurology. 2021. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2021.0178. PMID: 33683313.
BibTeX
@article{nasrallah2021-33683313,
author = {Nasrallah, I. M. and Gaussoin, S. A. and Pomponio, R. and Dolui, S. and Erus, G. and Wright, C. B. and Launer, L. J. and Detre, J. A. and others},
title = {{Association of Intensive vs Standard Blood Pressure Control With Magnetic Resonance Imaging Biomarkers of Alzheimer Disease: Secondary Analysis of the SPRINT MIND Randomized Trial}},
journal = {JAMA neurology},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1001/jamaneurol.2021.0178},
pmid = {33683313},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2021.0178}
}
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Key findings
- Importance Meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials have indicated that improved hypertension control reduces the risk for cognitive impairment and dementia.
- Results Among 673 recruited patients who had baseline MRI (mean [SD] age, 67.3 [8.2] years; 271 women [40.3%]), 454 completed the follow-up MRI at a median (interquartile range) of 3.98 (3.7-4.1) years after randomization.
- There were no significant treatment group differences for measures of AD regional atrophy, cerebral blood flow, or mean fractional anisotropy.
- Conclusions and relevance Intensive treatment was associated with a small but statistically significant greater decrease in hippocampal volume compared with standard treatment, consistent with the observation that intensive treatment is associated with greater decreases in total brain volume.
- However, intensive treatment was not associated with changes in any of the other MRI biomarkers of AD compared with standard treatment.
Why it matters
In this secondary analysis of the SPRINT MIND trial, intensive blood pressure control was associated with a small but statistically significant greater decrease in hippocampal volume compared with standard treatment, but no differences in other MRI biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease. The study does not show that intensive blood pressure control prevents or treats Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Participants1,267
- Effect size40.3%
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 71/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (JAMA neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | JAMA Neurology: journal h-index 235 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A meta-analysis pooling many studies |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 1,267 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 74 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.6 citations a year over 7 year(s) since 2021 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 8.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 31 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Susan Hensley: h-index 14 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Pennsylvania: institution h-index 1,859 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 33683313) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 71 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2021.0178
- PubMed: 33683313
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
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