What is Alzheimer's Disease?

Scientists aren’t absolutely sure what causes cell death and tissue loss in the Alzheimer's brain, but the plaques and tangles are prime suspects.

Does Memory Loss Always Mean Dementia?

Dementia is a broad category of symptoms that affect the brain and causes memory loss.

Early onset Alzheimer's

Although, Alzheimer’s is viewed as a disease of the elderly, up to 5% of Americans with Alzheimer’s have the early-onset variety, which can start to show symptoms as early as one’s 30s.

Showing posts with label Anxiety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anxiety. Show all posts

Monday, September 9, 2019

Chronic Stress Damages Brain, Increases Risk of Dementia


Chronic stress

People with chronic stress and anxiety are at an increased risk of developing depression and even dementia, a new research has shown.

When the researchers noticed that mental illness is aggravated by stress, they aimed to address the question of whether anxiety damages the brain and whether they could identify mechanisms behind the connection between stress and mental illness.

For their research, the tem - led by Dr. Linda Mah of the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Health Sciences in Canada reviewed animal and human studies that examined brain areas affected by chronic anxiety, fear and stress that are already published. They reported finding "extensive overlap" of the brain's neurocircuitry in all three conditions, which they said may justify the link between chronic stress and the development of neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression and Alzheimer's disease.

Read more Does Memory Loss Always Mean Dementia?

Occasional and temporary fear and stress is normal part of life. This is common among people to feel stressed and anxious before a job interview or an exam. However, when these reactions become chronic or frequent, they can affect daily lives and interfere with work, school and relationships.

Chronic stress is a pathological state. It is caused by stress causing disruption on immune, metabolic and cardiovascular systems, which leads to decay of the brain's hippocampus (crucial for long-term memory and spatial navigation).

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Dr. Linda Mah, clinician scientist with Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute and lead author of the review said:

"Pathological anxiety and chronic stress are associated with structural degeneration and impaired functioning of the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which may account for the increased risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression and dementia.”

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A man with dementia

Dr. Mah and colleagues focused on key structures in the neurocircuitry of fear and anxiety – amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, hippocampus. These brain areas are impacted during chronic stress. The researchers noted similar patterns of abnormal brain activity with fear, anxiety and chronic stress – specifically an overactive amygdala (associated with emotional responses) and an under-active PFC (thinking areas of the brain that help regulate emotional responses through cognitive appraisal).

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This see-saw relationship was first identified in a landmark study by world-renowned neurologist and depression researcher Dr. Helen Mayberg over a decade ago.

However, Dr. Mah also suggests that damage to the hippocampus and PFC as a result of stress can be reversible. She said that both anti-depressant treatment and physical activity have both shown promise in increasing hippocampal neurogenesis.

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The researchers conclude their study by writing:

"Whether anti-anxiety interventions can reduce risk of developing neuropsychiatric illness needs to be established with longitudinal studies."

The paper is posted online this month in the journal Current Opinion in Psychiatry.

Friday, January 19, 2018

Anxiety may be an early indicator of Alzheimer's disease in older adults

Anxiety may be an early indicator of Alzheimers

A new study suggests anxiety may be an early warning sign of Alzheimer’s disease. The results support the theory that neuropsychiatric symptoms could depict the early signs of Alzheimer’s.

Researchers found that heightening symptoms of anxiety were associated with greater levels of beta-amyloid in the brains of elderly without impaired cognition. Beta-amyloid is a protein linked with Alzheimer's, and is one of the hallmarks of the disease.

Scientists have long investigated risk factors, such as depression, that could result in Alzheimer’s. But this new study took a more distinct approach and examined the symptoms of depression – such as anxiety – itself.

Anxiety disorders, which affect almost 40 million adults each year, are common throughout the United States.

Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes cognitive decline and eventually renders the inflicted person incapable of carrying out simple tasks such as buttoning a shirt or using the phone. Approximately 5.5 million adults in the United States are affected by the disease, among them 5.4 million are older than 65 years.

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For their study, Dr. Nancy Donovan, from Brigham and Women's Hospital, and colleagues analyzed data of 270 healthy adults, who were part of the Harvard Aging Brain Study, for five years. The adults were aged between 62 and 90.

All the participants underwent positron emission tomography (PET) scan at the study onset and yearly during the 5-year follow-up period.

Researchers used 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) to assess depression symptoms among these adults. They also evaluated scores for 3 conglomerations of depression symptoms: anxiety, apathy-anhedonia, and dysphoria.

Anxiety may be an early indicator of Alzheimers
Higher levels of beta-amyloid in the brain was linked with increasing symptoms of anxiety in older adults who didn’t have cognitive impairment.


The researchers found that higher levels of beta-amyloid in the brain was linked with increasing symptoms of anxiety in older adults who didn’t have cognitive impairment.

The findings suggest that increasing symptoms of anxious-depression may be an early sign of elevated levels of beta-amyloid, and in turn Alzheimer’s disease.


The team says the results back the hypothesis that appearing neuropsychiatric symptoms constitute an early indication of preclinical Alzheimer’s.

Dr. Donovan and her team concluded that a bigger study focusing on the same subject is required to further confirm these initial findings. However, the anxiety testing could be a practical tool to ascertain if a person is at heightened risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, they added.

The findings were printed in The American Journal of Psychiatry.

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