DEMENTIA CAUSED BY STRESSFUL LIFESTYLE

STRESSFUL lifestyles could be the key trigger for incurable Alzheimer’s disease, scientists believe.

Scientists funded by the Alzheimer’s Society are investigating the link and hope their findings could lead to new drug treatments to fight the disease.

A study at the University of Kuopio in Finland has found that the long-term effects of stress may be the biggest cause of the disease.

When stressed, our blood pressure rises as our heart beats faster and levels of the hormone cortisol in the bloodstream also increase.

Experts believe once cortisol enters the brain it starts to kill off cells there, leading to Alzheimer’s.

The Finnish scientists found that patients with high blood pressure and high cortisol levels were more than three times as likely to develop Alzheimer’s than those without these conditions.

Professor Clive Holmes at the University of Southampton, who is leading the new research, said: “All of us go through stressful events. We are looking to understand how these may become a risk factor for the development of Alzheimer’s. Bereavement or a traumatic experience, possibly even moving home, is also a potential factor. This is the first stage in developing ways in which to intervene with psychological or drug-based treatments to fight the disease.

“We are looking at two aspects of stress relief – physical and psychological – and the body’s response to that experience.”

The study will monitor 140 people aged over 50 with mild memory problems over 18 months. They will be assessed for levels of stress and any movement from mild cognitive impairment to dementia. About 60 per cent of those with this impairment go on to develop Alzheimer’s.

The study is part of a £1.5million package of six grants being given by the charity to find the cause of the disease, a cure and a way to prevent it.

Alzheimer’s Society research manager Anne Corbett said: “The study will look at the role chronic stress plays in the progression from mild thinking and memory problems – mild cognitive impairment – to Alzheimer’s disease.

“We feel this is an important area of research that needs more attention. The results could offer clues to new treatments or better ways of managing the condition. “It will also be valuable to understand how different ways of coping with stressful life events could influence the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.”

Research has shown that stressed middle-aged women are 65 per cent more likely to develop dementia.

Scientists at Gothenberg University in Sweden found those who complained of repeated periods of stress, including irritation, anxiety or sleeping problems were significantly more likely to develop dementia in old age than those who led worry-free lives.

As part of the new study, researchers will track the volunteers’ levels of cortisol, released by the body in response to chronic stress. A number of illnesses are known to develop earlier or made worse by chronic stress including heart disease, diabetes, cancer and multiple sclerosis.

Stress can lead to high blood pressure which increases the risk of a heart attack because the heart has to work harder to pump more blood around the body. Cholesterol is also linked to the condition as it is a by-product of cortisol.

Dr Simon Ridley, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Understanding the risk factors for Alzheimer’s could provide one piece of the puzzle we need to take us closer to a treatment that could stop the disease in its tracks.”

That old saying, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” In addition to mega nutrition which helped a lot, the other thing I learned was therapeutic release of feelings. I was raised in the old “shut up or I’ll give you something to cry about” school. After life became too difficult, I eventually discovered intensive emotional release therapy (one version is called Primal Scream Therapy). I got into this after having been a crime victim triggered a year of insomnia. I had a lot of crying and screaming to do. Eventually made a sound proofed room in the basement where I, my husband and members of the self help group I formed were able to vent and support one another.

The fellow I am with now came to that group and we became friends over all these years. After my husband died we finally came together. When either of us feels bad we ask the other for a session. This might be holding the other while they cry or just listening to venting of anger. I check my blood pressure regularly at the grocery store. Usually I can tell when a negative feeling is building up because my normally lowish blood pressure starts going up. After I have had a good session (sometimes lasting and hour or two) and go back in a few days, my BP is often 107 over 65, whereas a few days earlier it might have been 122 over 72. I have relatively high cholesterol and am 25 lbs overweight, but am not particularly worried about that.

Don’t make fun of or discount something you know nothing about. I have had extensive training and experience with intense emotional release therapy. I have watched hundreds of people process suppressed feelings and seen how much better they feel after a good long session. I also saw clients for about 10 years. Most had done conventional talk therapy and gotten little or no benefit from it. Working with me or others I know I have seen amazing improvements in both personal feelings, overall health, and life effectiveness.

I probably do have good genes, but I suspect my attitude will enable me to live longer than my parents. My grandfather who was happily married to his second wife, and loved his work lived to be 98. He said the key to long life was drink plenty of water and take long walks. Hydration and exercise are indeed recommended. His sister was a very cheerful outgoing person and lived to 103 or 104. On the other hand my father who had been quite fit but had high blood pressure, had a stroke while standing in a grocery line, on a Friday, in a big city, while contemplating a 90 mile drive to collect rent from deadbeats. He died soon after at 90. I think the proximate cause of death was his poorly controlled life long anger.

In addition to a positive attitude and good nutrition, the other major move I made was learning how to dump negative feelings. See my comment 61. That has helped me survive a great deal of the stress of the past 25 years. Next month I will be 74, and feel as good as I did 20 years ago. Now if I could just stop eating the cherries, blueberries and other sweet stuff and do another round of the Atkins Diet Induction Phase, I could dump those darn 25 pounds. Cheers.

I forgot to answer your question about “getting away”. As a child in an unhappy relatively poor family with no TV, my escape was books. From grade 6 to 12 I read about 300 books a year. Then I was called a teachers pet, and had few friends, but I had my books. In college I discovered boys and they discovered me, so I did not read much. After marriage and a build up of stresses, I began reading a lot more again. Even today, if I really want to escape and don’t have a chance to do an emotional session, I will read a real page turner all night, maybe get an hour of sleep, and then the next night I will really get a good night’s sleep.

gleeaikin, no disrespect intended, and I do understand what you mean, but I don’t care if these people are mentally ill or not. These people are enemies, and I am going go ridicule them or offend them in any way I can.

These people are not benign. They are (or were) members of Earth First, a radical environmental group. Much of the stupidity, cost, and detriment to our industry and economy is due to idiots like these. They are disciples of the POS Rachel Carson, who I hold partially responsible for millions of deaths around the globe because of her influence in getting DDT banned.

I accept your opinion that some therapies are valuable, but I in no way relinquish my right and duty to combat people like these, and ridicule is a weapon, just one, that can and should be used against them.

I don’t have audio with my computer, so did not bother watching the video, thus, I do not know if they were protesting something that you and perhaps I might disagree with. I was reacting to your negativity about Primal Scream. PS is not a political agenda. It is a mode of intensely relieving and reliving inner stresses, suppressed bad memories and feelings, and even current distresses. The mode of expression has nothing to do with any political agenda. Since PS engages many more of the cerebral neurons than “talk” therapy, it seems to work faster and more deeply. I have had clients from very conservative and religious to very liberal and athiest, and all combinations in between. Their common denominator was that they were in emotional distress, and this form of expression worked better for them and more quickly than conventional modes.

gleeaikin, I see your point. I wasn’t making fun of Primal Scream Therapy, I was making fun of it in this context, perhaps I could have been clearer.

I understand where you are coming from, but if people are this upset by trees being cut down (again, in this context) I don’t think I can resist or avoid (nor do I think I can) ridiculing and making fun of them.

When doing the Atkins diet Induction Phase, the goal is to get the body to start burning fat instead of glucose. Thus you have to cut carbohydrates almost completely out of your diet. No more that 20 grams per day. I will go back to blueberries when that phase is over. At the time my husband died I had crept up to around 165 pounds. In a year I was down to 155. Then I discovered Atkins and dropped to 128 in less than 3 months. Gradually, my weight has crept back up to 150 thanks to a lot of government induced stress, so I will do Atkins for a while to move it back down quickly. Then I will go back to the blueberries, cherries, grapes, oranges, and whole grain rice, wheat, barley, oatmeal that I have to temporarily eliminate. This time I will try to do a better job of avoiding cake, cookies, chocolate and ice cream.

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