The researchers from Trinity examined the brain tissues of individuals who were affected by Alzheimer’s disease during their lifetime and then compared the results to those observed in model systems in the laboratory.
“People with Down syndrome represent the world’s largest population of predetermined Alzheimer’s disease”.
Previous studies have linked various genetic and potential environmental factors to Alzheimer’s disease.
The new study involved 12 participants between the ages of 30 and 60 with Down syndrome whose condition was tracked over time.
Did you know stress could increase your risk of Alzheimer’s?
“We think that this alteration could be an entrained mechanism to allow for the clearance of toxic amyloid-beta from the brain in those living with Alzheimer’s disease”.
“This study shows some of the earliest known Alzheimer’s disease biomarker changes in adults with Down syndrome and underscores the need for additional studies”, said Dr. Rafii.
University of Florida Health researchers has uncovered more evidence of a link between the brain’s stress response and a protein related to Alzheimer’s disease.
He added: “Given the recent advances in clinical trials of anti-amyloid beta antibodies, we hope our findings may lead to improved and adjunctive forms of therapy for this devastating condition”.
It is unclear how this protein is usually clear, but Trinity researchers found it can pass between the cells in blood vessels in the brain.
The research, published this week in the international “Science Advances” journal, was supported by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the US-based charity Brightfocus Foundation.
Those and other complex experiments reveal more about the mechanics of a likely relationship between stress and Alzheimer’s disease.
The stress coping hormone, called CRF, boosts the production of protein fragments known as amyloid beta, which clump together and trigger the brain degeneration that leads to Alzheimer’s disease, the research revealed. That, in turn, causes more of the Alzheimer’s-related protein to be produced, explained Prof Golde.
Researchers suggest that reducing stress in one’s life is the easiest way to ward off possible Alzheimer’s disease, as opposed to attempting to combat the genetic factors associated with Alzheimer’s disease. However, researchers are increasingly linking stress to onset of the disease.
“These data collectively link CRF to increased beta-amyloid through gamma secretase and provide mechanistic insight into how stress may increase AD [Alzheimer’s disease] risk”, say the authors.