Chronic Stress Spawns Protein Aggregates Linked to Alzheimer's

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(  accumulation of insoluble tau protein aggregates  )

The aggregates are similar to neurofibrillary tangles or NFTs, modified protein structures that are one of the physiological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Lead author Robert A. Rissman, PhD, assistant professor of neurosciences, said the findings may at least partly explain why clinical studies have found a strong link between people prone to stress and development of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD), which accounts for up to 95 percent of all AD cases in humans.

"In the mouse models, we found that repeated episodes of emotional stress, which has been demonstrated to be comparable to what humans might experience in ordinary life, resulted in the phosphorylation and altered solubility of tau proteins in neurons," Rissman said. "These events are critical in the development of NFT pathology in Alzheimer's disease."

The effect was most notable in the hippocampus, said Rissman, a region of the brain linked to the formation, organization and storage of memories. In AD patients, the hippocampus is typically the first region of the brain affected by tau pathology and the hardest-hit, with substantial cell death and shrinkage.

Not all forms of stress are equally threatening. In earlier research, Rissman and colleagues reported that acute stress -- a single, passing episode -- does not result in lasting, debilitating long lasting changes in accumulation of phosphorylated tau. Acute stress-induced modifications in the cell are transient, he said, and on the whole, probably beneficial. Continue to read: sciencedaily.com

Read more here: http://www.bnd.com/2012/02/07/2047945/obama-to-seek-more-alzheimers.html#storylink=cpy

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