Stressful events like the death of a parent, a divorce, or a severe illness experienced in childhood or mid-life may make us more susceptible to developing Alzheimer’s later, a recent study has found. The study involved 1,290 participants who were at an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s—because most were descendants of a family member living with the disease. The group was otherwise “cognitively unimpaired” and between 45 and 74 years old.
Death of mother Death of father Separation of parents Victim of abuse Terminated pregnancy Disabled child Divorce Death of a partner Death of a child Death of a close one Major illness of a close one Major illness Institutionalization Becoming unemployed Retirement Economic loss Legal problems Economic problems in childhood A small portion of the group (393 out of 1,290) had samples of spinal fluid taken to scan for the presence of amyloid and tau proteins—proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Multiple investigations have shown that, in addition to amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, there was evidence of prolonged and sustained inflammation in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s. This inflammatory response has been observed in Alzheimer’s patients post-mortem and the early stages of the disease, before diagnosis, the study found.
The same study found that chronic inflammation in the brain is not unique to Alzheimer’s, and increased inflammation has been observed in the brains of people w.