Scientists are finally figuring out what’s behind this brain disease.
Forgetting a few things – for example, not remembering where you parked your car after leaving the supermarket – is normal, especially when you are a busy person and have a lot on your mind.
But, for many forgetful people, this can advance Alzheimer’s .
Decades of research have shown that the build-up of toxic proteins in the brain, called beta amyloid and tau, can lead to Alzheimer’s .
What is less clear is what causes these proteins to build up.
Some new studies have begun to explain this process, revealing that the causes of Alzheimer’s go beyond genetics and unhealthy habits (although these are also important factors).
Here are some of the most unusual causes , pointed out by science.
CONSUMPTION OF ANXIETY MEDICATION
Certain types of medicines, called benzodiazepines, which include popular medicines like lorazepam, alprazolam, and clonazepam, are frequently used to treat anxiety and insomnia.
Although studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of these medications only contemplate short-term use (usually three months or less), many people use them for a long time.
A study published in the British Medical Journal monitored 1,796 Canadians with Alzheimer’s disease and 7,184 healthy Canadians over six years and found that taking benzodiazepines for more than three months was associated with a 51 percent increase in Alzheimer’s .
If you require occasional benzodiazepines, you’re probably safe.
But, if anxiety and insomnia are a regular thing for you, consider cognitive behavioral therapies, which have been proven, to be effective in treating both conditions without the potential side effect of the medication.
YOU HAVE BEEN HIT ON YOUR HEAD MANY TIMES
According to data from the University of Pittsburgh Spine and Brain Injury Program, many of us are familiar with the dangers of a head injury.
Most people recover without a scratch, but for some, the inflammation that helps damage damaged brain tissue becomes a disease.
This is where we find the potential link to Alzheimer’s , explains Dr. Brian Giunta, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist at the University of South Florida.
Cells in your brain, called microglia, play an important role in inflammation.
? When microglia are in a constant pro-inflammation state, they are less able to remove beta amyloids from your brain ,? says Dr. Giunta.
Without microglia cleaning proteins, they can accumulate in your brain and kill neurons.
It is still unclear why inflammatory processes remain activated in some people or how many cases of Alzheimer’s are potentially linked to brain injury, adds Dr. Giunta.
REGULARLY DEPRIVES YOUR SLEEP
According to a study published in Neurobiology of Aging , in addition to hindering you behind the wheel and causing nighttime cravings, lack of sleep can also accelerate the development of Alzheimer’s .
“Sleep problems are common in people with Alzheimer’s , but whether this is the cause or the effect is unclear,” says Dr. Domenico Praticò, pharmacologist and immunologist at Temple University in Philadelphia.
In an Alzheimer’s test on mice, Dr. Praticò and his colleagues found that leaving them sleepless for four hours each night increased the amount of tau protein in their brains.
This also altered learning and memory, as well as the way neurons communicate with each other.
Chronic sleep deprivation, explains Dr. Praticò, produces stress on the brain and body (why you are so tired), which accelerates harmful processes that cause Alzheimer’s .
Sleep deprivation is a type of chronic stress on the body. It is also the time when the brain gets rid of bad things ?, such as excess beta amyloid proteins, explains Dr. Praticò.
YOU ARE ALONE
A study in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry identified links between loneliness and the development of dementia.
The researchers found that feelings of loneliness in older adults increased their chances of developing dementia 1.63 times over the three years the study lasted.
Scientists still don’t know what causes this relationship, but the implications are clear: Staying in touch is good for you.