Pamplona ( Spain), 8 mar ( EFE).- A study in animal models developed by the applied medical research center ( top) of the University of Navarra (Northern Spain) concludes that “mild chronic stress is a risk factor for the development of Alzheimer’s disease”.
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the results of the work, published in the scientific journal Journal of Alzheimer? s Disease, indicate that the development of Alzheimer’s disease of sporadic type – 95% of cases – is associated with different genetic and environmental risk factors, and while the principal is aging, chronic stress also appears related to this disease.
The study sought to determine if a process of chronic stress soft, similar to the classic stress in daily life, could influence the appearance of this neurodegenerative disease and so have been used young mice with induced Alzheimer, who still do not have the characteristic features of the disease.
After subjecting them to a six-week chronic stress Protocol, it has been observed that these animals showed a loss of severe memory and a significant increase in the two main markers of Alzheimer’s, the peptide beta-amyloid and Tau protein fosforialda, substances that accumulate in the brain of patients with this disease.
“Therefore confirm that mild stress, applied on a chronic basis, contributes to aggravate and accelerate the major features of the disease in these animals, which had a genetic predisposition to develop Alzheimer’s disease”, explains sea square, researcher in the area of Neurosciences of the top and main author of the work.
The specialist indicated in a statement that there are many studies that endorse that stress produces cognitive impairment, depression patients have episodes of memory loss and stress is one of the factors associated with depression.
With this work, “confirmed that stress could directly affect the markers of Alzheimer’s disease”, emphasizes.
The top researchers are trying to now use these results to obtain animal models to develop all the characteristics of patients affected by Alzheimer’s disease and thus to test more reliably new molecules designed for the treatment of the disease.EFE