A new study suggests that older adults with stiff arteries may be more likely to suffer damage to brain nerve fibers, even before showing any signs of memory loss or cognitive decline.
The research comes from the large IGNITE clinical trial and was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
The study looked at 570 older adults who did not have memory or thinking problems. The scientists wanted to find out if stiff arteries were linked to signs of early brain damage and whether this damage was tied to memory or thinking problems.
They focused on a protein called neurofilament light chain (NfL), which can be found in the blood. NfL levels increase naturally with age, but when they are higher than expected, they may signal damage to brain cells.
To measure arterial stiffness, the researchers used a test called pulse wave velocity. This test checks how fast blood travels from the heart to the legs. When arteries become stiff, they can’t absorb the pressure of each heartbeat as well. This puts extra strain on the heart and makes it harder for organs—especially the brain—to get a steady supply of blood.
The results showed that participants with stiffer arteries performed worse on thinking tasks, particularly in areas like episodic memory (remembering events), working memory (holding and using information), and processing speed (how fast the brain can respond).
The biggest problems were seen in people who had both high NfL levels and stiff arteries. In these cases, nerve fiber damage was linked to significantly worse memory skills. This suggests that poor blood vessel health may make brain damage more harmful to memory.
While this is an important finding, the researchers cautioned that the study was observational. That means it can only show a connection—it does not prove that stiff arteries cause memory problems. More research is needed to see if improving blood vessel health can help protect memory as people age.
Dr. Lewis Lipsitz from the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research explained that brain aging isn’t just about damaged nerve cells—it’s also about the health of the blood vessels that feed the brain.
“While we don’t yet know if treating arterial stiffness will prevent memory loss, protecting blood vessel health may be a key part of keeping the brain sharp,” he said.
Lead author Dr. Amani Norling added that the combination of stiff arteries and nerve fiber damage could put some people at greater risk. She said it’s important to monitor both brain health and blood vessel health.
By keeping an eye on biomarkers like NfL and treating risk factors such as high blood pressure or cholesterol, doctors may be able to better identify people who are likely to develop memory problems—and help them earlier.
Dr. Kirk Erickson, the study’s senior author, said that one of the big questions in aging research is why some people lose memory faster than others.
These results suggest that both blood biomarkers and vascular health could be important pieces of the puzzle. More studies are now needed to confirm these findings and explore ways to slow down or prevent memory loss.
This study is part of the IGNITE project, which is testing how different levels of aerobic exercise affect the brain in older adults. The findings suggest that keeping blood vessels flexible and healthy could be just as important as keeping the mind active.
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The study is published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
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