{
  "id": 18034687,
  "title": "Chronic hypertension disrupts the blood-brain barrier in the ventral hippocampus in females but not males in a rat model of vascular cognitive impairment",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/chronic-hypertension-disrupts-the-blood-brain-barrier-in-the-ventral",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.31.763337v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Background: Chronic hypertension poses a significant risk for cerebrovascular disease, ischemic stroke, and cognitive impairment. Often co-occurring with anxiety, the link between these two conditions remains largely unexplored. Examining how chronic hypertension affects specific brain regions like the ventral hippocampus may shed light on how cerebrovascular disease contributes to altered emotional behavior. To investigate this, adult (7-month-old) male and female Wistar rats were divided into two groups: normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability was evaluated by measuring sodium fluorescein, 3 kDa Texas red dextran, and 10 kDa cascade blue extravasation into the ventral hippocampus. Serum samples were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to assess markers of vascular signaling, inflammation, and neuroaxonal and glial injury in separate male and female SHR groups. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey's post-hoc tests was employed to determine main effects and interactions between sex and hypertension. Circulating factors were compared using a Welch's t-test, and correlations between BBB permeability and anxiety-like behavior were analyzed using Pearson's correlations. Results: Chronic hypertension elevated inflammatory factors and BBB permeability in female rats but not in males. BBB permeability did not differ between sexes in normotensive rats. Chronic hypertension exhibited an anxiolytic effect on exploratory-related anxiety-like behavior, such as reduced thigmotaxis, quicker crossing through the center of the arena, and increased unsupported rearing. Risk assessment behavior was increased in female SHR. BBB permeability in the ventral hippocampus correlated with anxiety-like behavior in females but not in males, suggesting sex-dependent mechanisms underlying hypertension-induced changes in emotional behavior. Conclusions: These findings underline the role of chronic hypertension-induced BBB disruption in neuropsychiatric disorders, specifically in females, and enhance our understanding of cerebrovascular vulnerability in deep limbic brain regions.",
  "summary": "Background: Chronic hypertension is a leading cause of cerebrovascular disease, ischemic stroke, and cognitive impairment. In addition, anxiety and hypertension often co-exist, however, little is known about the relationship between the two. Understanding how chronic hypertension impacts limbic brain regions such as the ventral hippocampus may provide insight into how cerebrovascular contributes…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}