When people with Alzheimer’s disease get worse, their blood vessels don’t open up as well in response to moving their legs, and this is linked to less blood flow in their brain and body.

People with Alzheimer’s might have blood vessel problems for reasons other than just low nitric oxide — something else could be going on too.

In people around 78 years old who have Alzheimer’s, the drop in blood flow to the brain and body isn’t because they’re less active, have less muscle, burn fewer calories at rest, or have different levels of carbon dioxide in their blood.

In people around 78 years old, the worse their Alzheimer’s gets, the less blood flows to their brain and major arteries in their neck and leg — and this isn’t just because they’re older, less active, or have less muscle.

In people with Alzheimer’s, blood flow problems in the brain, head, and body get worse as the disease gets worse, and this seems to be tied to a chemical in the blood called nitric oxide—meaning the whole body’s blood vessels might be failing together, not just the brain.