“Stress Increases Risk of Alzheimer’s in Women: Study Finds Elevated Levels of Beta Amyloid in Stressed Female Mice”

[메디컬투데이=최재백 기자] Stress has been shown to play a significant role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease in women.

A study published in the journal ‘Brain’ found that beta amyloid levels increased in stressed female mice.

Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine found that levels of beta-amyloid increased under stress in female mice, as opposed to male mice.

Beta amyloid is known to be involved in the expression of Alzheimer’s symptoms by forming plaques in the brain, interfering with nerve signal transmission, and causing inflammation.

The research team noted that several factors are involved in the occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease, and even considering the average life span, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in women is high. They said that the difference in Alzheimer’s risk between men and women cannot be fully explained by the fact that women have a longer life expectancy, and that women’s hormones, genetics, social characteristics, and lifestyle must be taken into account.

They explained that they wanted to find out how, among other factors, stress affects the development of Alzheimer’s disease in women at the cellular level.

The research team investigated the effect of stress on the levels of beta-amyloid in the interstitial fluid of the hippocampus of mice, which is a brain region that is affected and degenerates when early-stage Alzheimer’s disease develops.

They exposed the rats to either restraint stress or olfactory stress for three hours and then measured beta-amyloid levels before, during, and after the stress exposure.

Restraint stress involved placing the mouse in a small, transparent plastic tub that had only enough breathing holes to restrict movement, and olfactory stress involved placing the mouse in a small tube containing 0.1 milliliters (mL) of urine from predators such as foxes and coyotes. was to be placed in a cage of

The type of urine was changed every 30 minutes to prevent the mice from adapting to the smell of urine from certain predators.

In addition, the research team measured the levels of stress hormones in the mice’s blood. As a result of the study, the research team reported that male and female mice received similar levels of stress, but the level of beta-amyloid in the interstitial fluid of the hippocampus of female mice increased by nearly 50% within the first 2 hours after exposure to stress, and the increase was maintained throughout the monitoring period. .

Meanwhile, only about 20% of male mice showed a slight increase in beta-amyloid levels.

The research team explained that there is a close relationship between the concentration of beta-amyloid in interstitial fluid and brain regions in mice, and that the cell response to the stress hormone corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is different depending on gender.

They said that levels of beta-amyloid in the brain increase as CRF is taken up by neurons in female mice, but neurons in male mice do not take up CRF.

In addition to this, experts added, the excessive secretion of hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline caused by stress can cause inflammation, damage to DNA and cells, and accelerate the aging process, which can affect brain and cognitive function.

On the other hand, it is difficult to measure interstitial fluid in humans, unlike mice, and cautions that different mechanisms or different research results may emerge from mice.

However, experts evaluated that this study does help explain some of the differences in the risk of Alzheimer’s disease according to gender, and is important for establishing gender-specific treatment strategies in the future.

Medical Today Reporter Jaebaek Choi ([email protected])

[저작권자ⓒ 메디컬투데이. 무단전재-재배포 금지]