Scientists at research center Applied Medicine (CIMA ) of the University of Navarra have confirmed that chronic mild stress may be involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The results have been published in the scientific journal Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

subject The development of sporadic AD, which represents 95% of cases, is associated with different genetic and environmental risk factors. While the main one is aging, chronic stress has also been linked to the onset of this disease. "Our study tries to determine whether a mild chronic stress process, similar to classical stress in daily life, could influence the onset of this neurodegenerative pathology. We used young mice with induced Alzheimer's disease, which do not yet exhibit the characteristic features of the disease. After subjecting them to a 6-week chronic stress protocol , we observed that these animals showed a severe loss of report and a significant increase in the two main markers of AD: beta-amyloid peptide and Tau phosphorylase protein, two proteins that accumulate in the brains of AD patients. Therefore, we confirmed that mild stress, applied chronically, contributes to aggravate and accelerate the main features of the disease in these animals, which presented a predisposition Genetics to develop Alzheimer's disease", explains Dr. Mar Cuadrado, researcher at the area of Neurosciences of CIMA and lead author of work.

There are many programs of study that support the fact that stress produces cognitive deterioration. In addition, patients with depression have episodes of loss of report and stress is one of the factors associated with depression. "In our work we have confirmed that stress could directly affect the markers of Alzheimer's disease," says Dr. Cuadrado.

Currently, researchers at CIMA are trying to use these results to obtain animal models that develop all the characteristics of AD patients. "In this way, we will be able to more reliably test new molecules designed for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease," she says.