Anxiety accelerates the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in people who are already suffering from cognitive decline

Studies have shown that anxiety can cause people who suffer from cognitive decline to develop full-blown Alzheimer’s disease sooner than those who do not.

Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina obtained MRI scans of 339 patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment at an average age of 72 years.

The US team has found a clear link between pre-existing cognitive decline and the earlier onset of Alzheimer’s disease in people with anxiety, even without potential genetic risk.

They hope that this study will help develop new therapies that will help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in people with mild cognitive impairment.

However, researchers said it is still unclear whether anxiety caused memory problems and rapid decline, or whether memory problems caused anxiety.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles tracked a large number of women across the United States to determine the rate of memory loss and its causes.

Brain MRI of a 72 year old woman.Patients had all three characteristics of hippocampal volume loss, APOE4, and anxiety, which studies found to be associated with progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia.

The death toll from Alzheimer’s disease has more than doubled since 2000, and it is estimated that there are more than 850,000 people with dementia in the UK.

Many people with this illness initially suffer from mild cognitive impairment-memory and thinking loss is more rapid than with normal aging.

Anxiety is frequently observed in patients with mild cognitive impairment, but prior to this study, the role of anxiety in disease progression was not well understood.

Senior author Professor Maria Spanpinato said it is already known that volume loss in parts of the brain is a predictor of progression to Alzheimer’s disease.

“We wanted to see if anxiety affects the structure of the brain, or if the effects of anxiety are independent of the structure of the brain in promoting progression,” he said.

The study group included 339 patients with an average age of 72 years diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment.

Of them, 339-72 progressed to Alzheimer’s disease during the study-while 267 remained stable with cognitive impairment.

Researchers obtained MRI scans of the brain to determine the volume of the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, two areas important for memory formation.

They also tested for the presence of the “ApoE4 allele,” the most common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Anxiety was measured in established clinical studies.

Brain MRI of a 62-year-old man with mild cognitive impairment. His condition remained stable throughout the course of his research. His brain MRI shows a normal-sized hippocampus (arrow).He was not a carrier of APOE4 and had no anxiety disorders

As expected, patients with advanced Alzheimer’s disease had a “significantly reduced” amount of hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, as well as alleles.

Jenny Wolver, a medical student who is the lead author of the study, said that patients with mild cognitive impairment with anxiety developed Alzheimer’s disease earlier than those without anxiety.

This happened “regardless of the genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease or brain volume loss,” Wolver explained.

Researchers believe that the association between anxiety symptoms and faster progression to Alzheimer’s disease provides an opportunity to improve screening and management of patients with early-stage mild cognitive impairment.

Professor Spampinato said: ‘We need to better understand the link between anxiety disorders and cognitive decline.

“It is not yet known if anxiety is a symptom, in other words, if their memory deteriorates and becomes anxious, or if anxiety contributes to cognitive decline.

In the future, if we can discover that anxiety is actually causing the progression, we need to more aggressively screen for anxiety disorders in the elderly.

Ms. Wolver added: ‘Many hospitals regularly screen for depression in the elderly population, but perhaps this vulnerable population should also be evaluated for anxiety disorders.

“Middle-aged and elderly people with high levels of anxiety may benefit from interventions, whether pharmacological or cognitive-behavioral therapy, with the goal of delaying cognitive decline.”

This study was based on an MRI scan performed at some point. For future research, the team wants to study the MRI obtained after the first scan to better understand the relationship between anxiety and brain structure.

“We are now interested in examining changes over time to see if anxiety has any effect on the rate of brain injury progression,” says Spampinato.

“We will also take a closer look at gender differences in the association between anxiety and cognitive decline.”

The findings will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

What is dementia?Killer disease that robs victims of their memory

Dementia is a comprehensive term used to describe a variety of neurological disorders

Global concerns

Dementia is a comprehensive term used to describe a series of progressive neuropathy (those that affect the brain) that affect memory, thinking, and behavior.

There are many types of dementia, of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common.

Some people may have a combination of dementia types.

Regardless of the type diagnosed, each person experiences dementia in a unique way.

Dementia is a global concern, but it is most often seen in wealthy countries where people are very likely to live in old age.

How many people will be affected?

The Alzheimer’s Disease Association today reports that there are more than 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, of which more than 500,000 have Alzheimer’s disease.

By 2025, the number of people with dementia in the UK is estimated to exceed one million.

It is estimated that there are 5.5 million people with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States. A similar rate is expected to rise over the next few years.

As a person gets older, so does the risk of developing dementia.

Although the diagnosis rate is improving, it is believed that many people with dementia have not yet been diagnosed.

Is there a cure?

Currently, there is no cure for dementia.

However, new drugs can slow the progression and, if detected early, can be a more effective treatment.

Source: Alzheimer’s Disease Association