Alzheimer’s risk factors

The expert explains who the subjects at risk are

Stefano CappaProfessor of Neurology, Higher University School of Pavia.

Non-modifiable Alzheimer’s risk factors

One of the non-modifiable risk factors is represented by age. With advancing age, the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease also increases. Most people develop Alzheimer’s after age 65 and, from this moment on, the incidence of the disease increases exponentially up to about eighty years of age. A second risk factor is genetics. Some forms of dementia are defined as sporadic, that is, they occur without inheritance between generations of a family. Other forms, however, called family members, occur in two or more people belonging to the same family. The latter can be caused by a genetic mutation that can be passed from parent to child with a fifty percent probability. Another genetic susceptibility factor is linked to the APOE gene. A specific variant of it confers an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, but not absolute certainty.

Modifiable Alzheimer’s risk factors

The literature continues to show great interest in modifiable risk factors. The main modifiable risk factors are associated with lifestyle and the presence of other diseases

• pollution
• alcohol intake
• vitamin deficiency
• little physical activity
• low mental and social activity (loneliness)
• bad rest
• high blood sugar and diabetes
• hypercholesterolemia
• hypertension
• obesity and unhealthy diet
• inflammatory bowel disease
• brain trauma
• cardiovascular pathologies
• low education and unhealthy eating style

Here are some scientific studies on modifiable Alzheimer’s risk factors.

Pollution

Scientists have been studying, for example, the relationship between Alzheimer’s and smog for years, discovering the mechanism of the disease more and more. Now two studies, one American and the other Swedish, are once again investigating the effects of smog on our brain.

The researchers of the Brown University School of Public Health in Providence in the United States compared the data of residents of different areas of New York, demonstrating that the more polluted the air, the faster the cognitive decline. Hence the authors of the study wonder whether the limits imposed by law are adequate to prevent many diseases and serious consequences. The research was published in the scientific journal Neurology.

A research team from the prestigious Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, has instead underlined that there is a direct link between the air we breathe and the health of our brain. But there’s more. Researchers at the Swedish research institute have determined that exposure to air pollution raises the chances of developing dementia. The worrying fact is that the measurements were taken in the center of Stockholm where the levels of fine particles are well below what occurs in most European and US cities, Italy in the lead.

Therefore, even at smog levels unthinkable by us there are health risks. The chances of getting sick, for example, with Alzheimer’s increase by:

• 50% for an increase of 0.88 micrograms per cubic meter of Pm2.5 concentration
• of the 14% for an increase of 8.35 micrograms per cubic meter in the concentration of nitrogen oxides.

According to scientists this phenomenon occurs, why smog affects blood vessels. In fact, almost half of the dementia patients due to exposure to polluted air developed dementia following a stroke.

High cholesterol

Il cholesterol has a role in the onset and progression ofAlzheimer because it favors the formation of toxic aggregates of beta-amyloid in the brain. Beta-amyloid is the marker molecule of the pathology. This is what emerges from a new studio conducted at Cambridge University and published in the journal Nature Chemistry.

This does not mean that thehypercholesterolemia is directly linked to Alzheimer’s disease. “Our main finding is that cholesterol plays a central role in the aggregation of amyloid-beta, which would otherwise take centuries to spontaneously aggregate in the brain,” explained the Italian researcher. Michele Vendruscolostudy participant. «In the presence of cholesterol it aggregates much faster, causing the plaque formation».

Cholesterol is an important component of the membranes of neurons and is found – in strictly controlled concentrations – above all on synaptic vesicles. These are microscopic bubbles that are used to release the neurotransmitters. Amyloid-beta molecules are concentrated near the vesicles. When the control of the concentration of cholesterol on the membranes is compromised for some reason, for example due to aging, its excess can favor the aggregation of beta-amyloid. According to another study, too your risk of early Alzheimer’s may increase if your cholesterol is high.

Lack of sleep and few dreams

Sleeping little and badly increases the levels of protein value is amyloid in the brain, associated with dementia. Could this be why people suffer from one chronic lack of sleep have a higher risk of getting sick from Alzheimer as years go by. To indicate it is one studio published in the magazine Brain from the universities of Washington and Stanford in collaboration with Radboud University of the Netherlands.

The results of the analyzes show that after a single restless night, amyloid beta protein rises by 10%. Their protein costson the other hand, shows a surge when sleep disturbances last for several nights, as happened to some participants in the study. As eloquent as these data are, they still need to be taken with a grain of salt. As the researchers themselves point out, it should not be thought that a single sleepless night, or even a week, can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s. It’s very likely that a good night’s sleep could undo their effects by bringing amyloid and tau protein levels back to normal. «The real problem is chronic sleep disorders», explain the experts.

If, on the other hand, you dream a lot at night, be happy about it. A study of Boston University School of Medicine demonstrated that those who dream a lot lower the chances of getting sick Alzheimers. The research was published in the scientific journal Neurology. Responsible for this benefit is the REM phase, which is characterized by rhythmic eye movements. This is the stage where dreams are most intense, where there is increased brain activity, body temperature rises and breathing becomes faster. Those who spend less of their rest there have an increased risk of developing dementia.

Diabetes and high blood sugar

For years, experts have argued that between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease there may be a link. High blood glucose levels can cause beta-amyloid levels in the brain to rise rapidly. This protein is the key component of the brain plaques that characterize Alzheimer’s patients and whose accumulation is believed to be a driver of the series of cognitive and behavioral changes that lead to the development of the disease.

Blood tests: the complete guide

Loneliness

Loneliness and the perception of not having meaningful contacts represent a greater risk of developing cognitive disorders. While being married and having a consistent number of intimate relationships with friends and family are correlated with a lower risk of dementia.

The results of a large study of the College of Medicine of Florida State University (on over 12,000 people) has shown that in 10 years the risk of developing a form of dementia for those who feel alone is 40 percent. Research has highlighted that single people have many risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases. The main ones are hypertension, diabetes and depression. They are generally inactive and smoke. In reality, however, even for those who feel alone and do not have these risk factors, the probability of developing a form of dementia remains at 40 percent.

Atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is also a risk factor for Alzheimer’s because it increases the risk of dementia. This heart disorder is characterized by the loss of coordination of the contraction of the atrial muscle fibers resulting in irregular heart contractions. It usually goes with a increase in average frequency, which is the number of beats counted in one minute. Only very rarely and generally among very elderly people can it be accompanied by a reduction in the number of pulses. In practice there are palpitations or tachycardia and we feel short of breath. According to one study, the people with atrial fibrillation have a risk of 50% higher to develop dementia. Specifically for Alzheimer’s the risk increases by 30%, while that of vascular dementia doubles.

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