Stress Significantly Hastens Progression Of Alzheimer's Disease

A new study suggests that some medications may hasten the appearance of Alzheimer's disease.

The UC Irvine study also reinforces that controlling stress is key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and staving off dementia.

The researchers found that stress hormones appear to rapidly exacerbate the formation of brain lesions that are the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. The findings suggest that managing stress and reducing certain medications prescribed for the elderly could slow down the progression of this devastating disease.

Frank LaFerla, a professor of neurobiology and behavior who has been at the forefront of Alzheimer’s research in recent years, and a team of UCI researchers studied stress hormones in genetically modified mice. LaFerla:

"It is remarkable that these stress hormones can have such a significant effect in such a short period of time. Although we have known for some time that higher levels of stress hormones are seen in individuals in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, this is the first time we have seen how these hormones play such a direct role in exacerbating the underlying pathology of the disease."

These findings may have profound implications for how to treat the elderly who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.

"This study suggests that not only is stress management an important factor in treating Alzheimer’s disease, but that physicians should pay close attention to the pharmaceutical products they prescribe for their elderly patients,” said Kim Green, a postdoctoral researcher in neurobiology and behavior and first author of the paper. “Some medications prescribed for the elderly for various conditions contain glucocorticoids. These drugs may be leading to accelerated cognitive decline in patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s."

Story was reported in ScienceDaily.

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