Evaluation of brain conductivity changes after three-month antihypertensive medication in patients with essential hypertension.

The study investigates brain conductivity changes following a three-month antihypertensive treatment in 22 patients with essential hypertension. Utilizing a prospective, cross-sectional design, the research employed MREPT for brain conductivity mapping. Image analyses involved voxel-based and ROI-based techniques with statistical tests examining correlations between conductivity changes and age or blood pressure changes. Key findings included a significant increase in brain conductivity post-treatment, particularly in the anterior cingulate and right insula. Older patients exhibited smaller conductivity increases, notably in the corpus callosum. No significant correlation was found between changes in diastolic or systolic blood pressure and conductivity. Proposed mechanisms for these changes include improved cerebrospinal fluid dynamics, enhanced ion mobility, and normalized ion concentrations, suggesting brain conductivity as a potential biomarker for treatment efficacy. The study implies that brain conductivity could serve as a novel imaging biomarker for monitoring antihypertensive treatment efficacy in the brain.