Mechanism behind stress leading to Alzheimer’s identified

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That stress causes Alzheimer’s has been known for sometime now, but a recent study on mice has shown why people under stress and anxiety appear more prone to this disease.
Researchers have discovered that stress causes a rapid rise in the brain proteins linked to Alzheimer's disease.
David Holtzman at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, US, and colleagues placed four-month-old mice in isolation within small spaces. The mice stayed in the confined setting – which causes rodents great stress – for three days or as long as three months.

Findings revealed that only three days of stress caused an abrupt 42% increase in brain proteins that causes the disease.

During the course of the experiment the animals wore a special headset device, known as a micro-dialysis probe, that periodically extracted brain fluid for analysis.

Researchers focused their attention on one molecule in particular - amyloid beta peptide. This molecule is known to contribute to the formation of the amyloid protein tangles and plaques that are the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease.
The team found that mice housed in the confined space for three months had nearly twice as much amyloid beta peptide in their brain fluid than the control mice that stayed in regular cages.
“The fact that the effect is so fast is interesting,” said Holtzman. Stress may cause a certain type of brain cell activation that releases amyloid beta peptide, he added.

Rudolph Tanzi at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, US. said that some doctors have observed a possible link between stressful experiences – such as the loss of a spouse – and an older person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease.(ANI)