Stress in middle age could cause dementia by damaging the brain, new research suggests. Neurons involved in chronic anxiety and fear ‘extensively overlap’ in areas associated with Alzheimer’s disease, scientists say and causes other diseases.
How Does Severe Stress Affect The Brain
Mid-life stress has been previously linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
The latest research shows that the mechanism of how chronic stress physically damages the brain – potentially leading to dementia.
Chronic stress is defined as ‘prolonged activation’ of the normal stress response – in other words stress over long periods of time. The study suggests reducing chronic stress by therapy, exercise or mindfulness training – a form of meditation – might be ways to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’ s.
A Canadian team reviewed animal and human studies that have already been published and found brain areas affected by chronic anxiety, fear and stress were linked. This could explain the development of neuropsychiatric disorders (depression & Alzheimer’s, they argue.)
Psychiatrist Dr Linda Mah, of the University of Toronto, 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.’
In Alzheimer’s the hippocampus, the brain’s memory hub, is one of the first regions to shrink. Those who suffer from depression also have a smaller hippocampus. The PFC also wastes away in both conditions. The research is published in the journal Current Opinion in Psychiatry.
It pooled data from studies of lab animals along with brain scans of humans, focusing on chemicals sparked by fear and anxiety in three brain areas: the amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.
When subjected to chronic stress there were also similar patterns of abnormal brain activity including an overactive amygdala, an area associated with emotional responses, and an underactive PFC, that helps regulate them through thinking.
The study suggests reducing chronic stress by therapy, exercise or mindfulness training – a form of meditation – might be ways to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. Also This ‘see-saw relationship’ was first identified in a landmark study by world renowned neurologist and depression researcher Dr. Helen Mayberg more than a decade ago.
But Dr. May said stress induced damage to the hippocampus and PFC can be combated or even reversed with anti-depressants and physical activity that have both been found to improve the hippocampus. She said: ‘Looking to the future we need to do more work to determine whether interventions, such as exercise, mindfulness training & cognitive behavioural therapy, can not only reduce stress but also decrease the risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders.’
Dr Mah’s study follows on the heels of her previous one published in October 2014 which found some of the strongest evidence yet that anxiety may accelerate the development of Alzheimer’s disease in people diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, minor memory loss that can lead to the condition.
Experiencing anxiety, fear and stress is considered a normal part of life when it is occasional and temporary, such as feeling anxious and stressed before an exam or a job interview. But when those acute emotional reactions become more frequent or chronic, they can significantly interfere with daily living activities such as work, also school and relationships.
Dementia Progression Slowed with Good Nutrition
by Case Adams, Naturopath · June 28, 2012
(Last Updated On: June 4, 2018)
Nutrition strategies help slow Alzheimer’s progression.
Recent research is proving that the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are linked to something called oxidative stress. Oxidative stress and also how to prevent it is caused by a combination of poor lifestyle choices and a diet that produces increased levels of antioxidants and lower levels of free radicals and oxidative stress.
Your body needs some fat for energy and other functions. Polyunsaturated fats are a healthy choice. The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends getting no more than 10% of your total daily calories from saturated fat (found in red meat, butter, cheese, and whole-fat dairy products) and trans fats (found in processed foods). Keep the total fat consumption to no more than 25% to 30% of your daily calories.
This includes monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
Eating healthier fats can lead to certain health benefits. But eating too much fat can lead to weight gain. All fats contain 9 calories per gram. This is more than twice the amount of calories found in carbohydrates and protein.
It is not enough to add foods high in unsaturated fats to a diet filled with unhealthy foods and fats. Instead, replace saturated or trans fats with healthier fats. Overall, eliminating saturated fats is twice as effective in lowering blood cholesterol levels as when you begin increasing polyunsaturated fats.
To get the health benefits, you need to replace unhealthy fats with healthy fats.
– Eat walnuts instead of cookies for a snack. But be sure to keep your portion small, as nuts are high in calories.
– Replace some meats with fish. Try eating at least 2 meals with fish per week.
– Sprinkle ground flax seed on your meal.
– Add walnuts or sunflower seeds to salads.
– Cook with corn or safflower oil instead of butter and solid fats.
Dementia patients followed
Recently, researchers from the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Capital Medical University in China analyzed urinary biomarkers of oxidative stress among 46 patients with vascular dementia. . . 24 patients with vascular disease without dementia, and 26 people without symptoms of either.
They found that patients with dementia had significantly higher levels of a urinary biomarker called 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (or 8-OHdG). 8-OHdG is associated with significantly high levels of oxidative stress. These levels were significantly higher than both of the other groups of patients.
Alzheimer’s linked to clusterin.
Another recent study, this one from Qingdao University’s School of Medicine, analyzed multiple studies and two large genome studies and concluded that Alzheimer’s disease patients significantly higher levels of clusterin, known as apolipoprotein J. Clusterin has been found to bind to amyloid-beta (Abeta) proteins, and has the ability to reduce fibril formation.
It is now thought that in an attempt to resist the formation of the Abeta proteins and fibrils, the body produces clusterin as a defense measure against oxidative stress. This has been confirmed in studies showing that clusterin. . .lowers cell death and levels of oxidative stress. Perhaps this is one reason that Alzheimer’s drugs keep failing.
What causes oxidative stress?
Oxidative stress is produced with increased levels of toxin exposure, either within your diet, water you drink or the air you breath, combined with lower levels of antioxidants and increased levels of lifestyle stressors. Toxins become oxidized and become radicals, which can damage our arteries and tissues.
Oxidative stress is a modern day issue. Our air, our water and our foods are full of toxins. These can range from heavy metals to pesticides to pollutants. These sorts of toxins push our body’s ability to cleanse these substances from our body. Also Our liver, for example, produces antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase and glutathione in order to remove toxins from our blood and lymph systems.
But when there are more toxins than antioxidants, our body becomes stressed. It becomes overwhelmed with toxins, which are in effect, oxidants. Also Researchers from Columbia’s University of Pontificia Javeriana studied the connection between antioxidant intake and Alzheimer’s disease in a variety of studies. They found that an increased consumption of “polyphenol-rich” foods significantly lowered the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Plant-based foods provide polyphenols.
The researchers confirmed their findings. “It has been demonstrated, in various cell culture and animal models, that these [polyphenol] metabolites are able to protect neuronal cells by attenuating oxidative stress and damage.” Meanwhile, germinated brown rice helps slow Alzheimer’s according to other research.
The past year has also been banner year for Ashwagandha research. Numerous studies confirmed its healing properties in a variety of conditions, including stress, toxicity, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s, skin cancer, tuberculosis, liver toxicity and many others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwbrLOHc36I