The AP (7/11, Marchione) reports researchers found that “high blood pressure late in life might harm the brain,” and may be linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers “found more signs of damage and one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of those with higher blood pressure than among those with pressure closer to normal.” The findings were published online July 11 in Neurology. TIME (7/11, Park) reports the researchers “measured the blood pressure of nearly 1,300 elderly people, aged 59 to 102 years, and followed them until they died, on average eight years after enrolling in the study,” and then “performed autopsies on the brains to document the presence of brain lesions, including signs of Alzheimer’s disease.” The researchers found “evidence that blood pressure may be one of the many factors that can contribute to aging brain processes, including the formation of lesions and hallmark features of diseases like Alzheimer’s.” MedPage Today (7/11, George) reports the researchers also found that “late-life systolic and diastolic blood pressure were separately associated with the number of brain infarcts at autopsy, as was faster decline in systolic blood pressure over time.” (SOURCE: APA Headlines)