Search Here

Could chronic stress be a cause for Alzheimer's? That's what researchers are hoping to figure out from a new Alzheimer's Society funded research project.

The study part of a £1.5 million package of six grants being given by the charity who's fighting to find a cause, cure and way to prevent the disease. It is scheduled to start in less than a week will involve 18 months monitoring 140 people aged 50 and over with mild cognitive impairment.

Professor Clive Holmes will lead the stress study at the University of Southampton and He said the researchers are looking to understand how life events may become a risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's.

"All of us go through stressful events," he said. "This is the first stage in developing ways in which to intervene with psychological or drug based treatments to fight the disease."

The participants will be assessed for levels of stress and assessed for any progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia.

About 60 percent of people with mild cognitive impairment are known to go on to develop Alzheimer's.

"There is a lot of variability in how quickly that progression happens; one factor increasingly implicated in the process is chronic stress," Holmes said. "That could be driven by a big change - usually negative - such as a prolonged illness, injury or a major operation.

The study will look at stress relief - physical and psychological - and the body's response to that experience. Potential life factor can include bereavement or a traumatic experience - possibly even moving home, according to Holmes.

The participants in the trial will be compared to a group of 70 people without memory problems, who will be tested as a 'control group.' The process will be repeated after 18 months to measure any conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease. Stressful life events will also be recorded. The researchers will take blood and saliva samples every six months to measure biological markers of stress. Blood samples will measure immune function and the saliva samples will track levels of cortisol, which is released by the body in response to chronic stress.

A number of illnesses are known to develop earlier or are made worse by chronic stress, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer and multiple sclerosis. Surprisingly little research has been done in people with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease in relation to their experience of stress.