Stress was once thought of as a troubling but mostly harmless consequence of modern life. But this perspective is rapidly changing as studies show just how damaging it can be for every organ and circuit in your body. Stress hormones may even increase the amyloid protein build-up in your brain, where these plaque deposits have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
The term “amyloid protein” refers to abnormal proteins that are produced in the bone marrow and can build up in any organ or tissue in the body. Most of the time, these proteins are harmlessly removed from the body or may even have beneficial effects. But sometimes their structure is disrupted and problems begin. Amyloids can fold into shapes that allow them to stick together. They then collect around cells in almost any part of your body and disrupt the normal function of organs and tissues.
There are many diseases and disorders connected with amyloid protein build-ups including amyloidosis, where the proteins accumulate in certain organs and impede function, prion diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is a growing problem in the modern world. It’s the sixth leading cause of death in the US and the most common type of dementia that affects older people. In fact, it’s one of the many neurodegenerative problems that are becoming more common in the modern world.
Alzheimer’s is a progressive disorder that starts with mild memory loss and eventually progresses to the loss of multiple mental and cognitive functions. People who suffer from this disease struggle with memory, language, and thought and often become incapable of carrying out everyday tasks.
Currently, there is no known clear cause of Alzheimer’s. However, it may have something to do with amyloid protein deposits in the brain, particularly amyloid-β (Aβ), which is one specific type of these proteins. People with Alzheimer’s have deposits of these proteins, neurofibrillary tangles, and loss of neurons across specific parts of the brain. However, this doesn’t mean that the protein deposits cause Alzheimer’s. The actual causes of this disease aren’t known yet, but stress may also be a factor in its development.
A recent study has explored this to determine the nature of the connection between stress and Alzheimer’s. There is clearly a strong link between these two factors. Patients with Alzheimer’s disease show generally high levels of blood cortisol and increases in cortisol levels are strongly correlated with the severity of cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s patients. However, the nature of this link isn’t well understood.
The new study examined the connection between amyloid protein build-up in the brain, stress, and Alzheimer’s processes. The study found that stress can increase brain cortisol levels, which also increases the rate at which these proteins are aggregated into plaques. The release of extra cortisol may also stimulate the release of Aβ, the particular type of amyloid protein that’s associated with Alzheimer’s. Since the creation of amyloid plaques demands a high concentration of Aβ, this could be the mechanism by which stress leads to faster creation of plaque deposits.
However, at this stage, the link between amyloid protein plaque deposits and neuronal degradation is still not known. There is still too little information to suggest that causes Alzheimer’s. Further research is needed before this connection can be fully understood and used to help with Alzheimer’s prevention and care.
What is clear is that stress can have a negative impact on your brain function and structure. And if you have chronically high stress levels, this is one of many serious problems that you need to address to be healthy as you age.
When you become stressed, there’s an increase in the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. When chronically activated, this activity can damage certain parts of the brain and impede their structure and function. This includes the hippocampus, which is thought to be the center for memory and emotion, and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). This part of the brain contains high numbers of cortisol receptors, which is one of the hormones that your body excretes when you’re stressed. Usually, cortisol will help your body cope with the cause of the stress, and its effects on the brain are beneficial. However, intense or chronic stress can result in constantly high cortisol levels, which can be detrimental to the function and structure of the brain.
The hippocampus in particular is very sensitive to these types of negative effects and can suffer from neuronal loss and dendrite atrophy or death. This means that stress may create a vicious circle of damage to the hippocampus and increase HPA axis dysregulation, causing increasing levels of stress hormones and further damage to the brain. This damage can be especially concerning if chronic stress has led to Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS).
Stress is the common link between the build-up of amyloid protein in the brain and AFS. Prolonged, chronic stress causes adrenal fatigue and the general overuse of the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response. This is the system that has evolved to help your body cope with stress. One of the ways it does that is by activating the adrenal glands, so the body gets the cortisol it needs to cope with stressful situations. However, when the demand for cortisol is ongoing and continues over time, the adrenal glands become overworked and start to malfunction. Every system, organ, and circuit in the body can be affected by AFS.
People who have AFS usually experience strange symptoms as well as damage to a variety of systems in the body. These secondary issues can often be alleviated or eliminated by addressing the underlying disorder. However, this may not always be the case. If the chronically high levels of cortisol that are associated with AFS increase the amyloid protein plaque build-up in your brain and lead to Alzheimer’s disease, problems can eventually become irreversible.
Poor brain health is one of the most common and troubling problems that occurs when you have AFS. The triad of brain, ANS, and microbiome make up the neuroaffect circuit. As AFS progresses, the balance between these systems can start to fail, causing problems within the systems and potentially frightening symptoms.
When you encounter stress, the neurotransmitters (NT) norepinephrine and epinephrine are released to prepare your body to respond. This prompts the release of more cortisol from the adrenal glands in response. This flood of NTs will also leave you feeling “wired but tired,” unable to sleep, and on edge all the time as you stay alert due to stress. This will trigger more cortisol as your body tries to combat the feelings of stress and unease.
As NTs become more unbalanced, communication between the three systems in this circuit will start to break down, further unbalancing the rest of your body as well. Your ANS will be constantly on the alert, making you feel increasingly jittery and unsettled. You may struggle to sleep or find that your body no longer follows its natural rhythms. And because of the interconnected nature of these three systems, this will also cause the microbiome to become further dysregulated, allowing bad bacteria to overwhelm the good. The result will be gut problems that seriously impact your mental health.
People with AFS often find themselves with mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression as well as serious NT imbalances. Your emotional responses to the outside world may also become inappropriate as the brain’s emotional and cognitive centers become compromised. You may also experience physical changes to the brain such as depression because of high inflammation levels. Even worse, you may experience shrinking of the medial prefrontal cortex because the neurons are struggling to communicate because of the NT imbalances. Even the hippocampus can be affected, with increased myelin that can cause learning difficulties. When your brain is already dealing with these problems, the last thing you need is more damage caused by amyloid protein build-ups.
Amyloid protein build-ups in your brain could exacerbate the imbalances that already exist because of AFS. They may worsen problems such as hippocampus damage due to myelin build-up and further hinder the communication of the neurons. These issues will also prompt the excretion of more cortisol, which could further damage the hippocampus and make you more likely to suffer from long-term damage or disorders associated with diminished functioning in this part of the brain. This could be doing damage to your brain and cause further problems with the neuroaffect circuit, increase inflammation and stress, and worsen AFS.
We don’t know if you can prevent amyloid protein build-up in your brain. However, you can reduce your chances of hippocampus damage by reducing your stress levels. It’s important to eat a healthy diet, exercise several days per week, and practice stress-relieving activities like meditation, yoga, or a hobby. Brain games are also a good way to stay sharp.
This will naturally lower your cortisol levels, help to rebalance your body’s systems, and reverse the effects of stress. And this will also allow your body to enter its “rest and repair” cycle and start healing any damage that’s already been done.
When you’re working on healing from AFS, however, it’s important that you have expert guidance. AFS is a multifaceted disorder that affects every circuit in your body, so it can be difficult to design a recovery program that will improve or eliminate all of the symptoms you experience. This is particularly important when it comes to your brain to avoid causing additional stress that could speed up the accumulation of amyloid protein deposits.
Amyloid protein fibers can build up are connected with serious disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, although we do not know if they actually cause these disorders. Not enough is known about why these proteins are created or why they collect in certain areas around the body. But what is becoming clear is the connection between these proteins and stress, and this could potentially increase risk factors for the related neurodegenerative conditions. This is particularly dangerous for anyone who suffers from AFS and has abnormally high stress levels. Reducing your stress levels and adopting healthy habits now is vital for your brain health in the long-term.
© Copyright 2020 Michael Lam, M.D. All Rights Reserved.
Amyloid protein build-ups in the brain have been linked to Alzheimer’s and several other diseases. There’s evidence to suggest that stress hormones may increase amyloid plaque deposition and accelerate the mental degradation that’s associated with Alzheimer’s, although the exact mechanism is not known at this time.
