Health & Wellbeing

Is anxiety a strong early indicator of Alzheimer's disease?

Is anxiety a strong early indicator of Alzheimer's disease?
Increasing anxiety in old age could be amn early symptom of Alzheimer's disease
Increasing anxiety in old age could be amn early symptom of Alzheimer's disease
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Increasing anxiety in old age could be amn early symptom of Alzheimer's disease
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Increasing anxiety in old age could be amn early symptom of Alzheimer's disease

The degenerative processes behind Alzheimer's disease have been found to begin 10, or even 20 years before dementia symptoms become evident and the condition is diagnosed. A new study suggests that increasing symptoms of anxiety could be an early indicator of Alzheimer's, allowing physicians better targets for early interventions to treat the condition before it causes too much irreversible neurological damage.

One of the big challenges in successfully treating sufferers of Alzheimer's, and other neurodegenerative diseases, is that significant neurological damage is already done by the time clinical symptoms are clear enough to diagnose the condition. In the case of Alzheimer's disease, this preclinical phase can last over a decade before a mild cognitive impairment even becomes apparent.

The most general preclinical sign of Alzheimer's is known to be depression, so a team at Brigham and Women's Hospital set out to explore the relationship between the build-up of amyloid beta in the brain and specific symptoms of depression.

"Rather than just looking at depression as a total score, we looked at specific symptoms such as anxiety," explains first author on the study, Nancy Donovan. "When compared to other symptoms of depression such as sadness or loss of interest, anxiety symptoms increased over time in those with higher amyloid beta levels in the brain."

The study followed 270 cognitively healthy senior citizens aged between 62 and 90 years old. Over a span of five years these subjects underwent positron emission tomography (PET) scans to measure cortical levels of amyloid beta. These observations were complemented by annual assessments examining depression symptoms across three categories: apathy-anhedonia, dysphoria, and anxiety. The results clearly pointed to a correlation between increasing anxious-depressive symptoms and higher levels of amyloid beta in the brain.

"This suggests that anxiety symptoms could be a manifestation of Alzheimer's disease prior to the onset of cognitive impairment," says Donovan. "If further research substantiates anxiety as an early indicator, it would be important for not only identifying people early on with the disease, but also, treating it and potentially slowing or preventing the disease process early on."

This particular study didn't go on to connect these anxious-depressive symptoms and increasing levels of amyloid beta with a subsequent onset of Alzheimer's disease, so further long-term work needs to be done to ascertain the existence of such a connection.

The study was published in The American Journal of Psychiatry.

Source: Brigham and Women's Hospital

4 comments
4 comments
Bob
So how long will it be before it is linked with autoimmune problems or an imbalance in gut bacteria or even diet? Much more study needs to be done in this area. So many of our problems are likely due to additives in our food or GMO modifications. While autism, allergies, and premature baldness seem to be spreading like a plague, what economic and political forces are at work to shield producers from any liability. It only took 50+ years to pin down the obvious consequences of tobacco use.
akarp
Thanks to #45 (Trump) this research will be delayed. Sad, say sad example of a human specimen.
"AFTER TRUMP TAX BREAK PFIZER ENDS FUNDING FOR ALZHEIMER'S, PARKINSON'S RESEARCH AND GIVES BILLIONS TO INVESTORS"
http://www.newsweek.com/alzheimers-parkinsons-tax-cuts-pfizer-research-780163
michael_dowling
What is the point of detecting Alzheimers early? There is no known way to treat it or even slow it down.
Jean Lamb
The brain knows something is wrong. And yet, early detection may well help people plan ahead and begin coping maneuvers. Also, starting an exercise program might ward the worst effects off for longer.