New Delhi: Hypertension can start impairing major brain cells responsible for cognition well before blood pressure increases by a measurable amount, according to a study conducted on mice, which can help explain how the condition is a major risk factor for cognitive impairment.

Findings published in the journal Neuron suggest that hypertension may induce early changes in how genes in a brain cell express themselves and could interfere with one's thinking and memory, researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College said.

The study can provide clues for finding ways through which neurodegeneration -- seen in disorders such as Alzheimer's -- could be blocked, they said.

Having high blood pressure has been shown to heighten one's risk of cognitive impairment, usually seen to precede Alzheimer

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