Narrowed Arteries May Trigger Alzheimer's

(December 26, 2008) - Cardiovascular disease (Read about "The Heart & Cardiovascular System") may be one of the causes of Alzheimer's disease (Read about "Alzheimer's Disease"), another reason to pay attention to your heart health. A new study says a slow, chronic starvation of the brain (Read about "The Brain") as we age appears to be one of the major triggers of a biochemical process that causes some forms of Alzheimer's disease.

The study found when the brain doesn't get enough sugar glucose - as might occur when cardiovascular disease restricts blood flow in arteries to the brain - a process is launched that ultimately produces the sticky clumps of protein that appear to be a cause of Alzheimer's. (Read about "Arteriosclerosis & Atherosclerosis")

Robert Vassar, lead author, discovered a key brain protein is altered when the brain has a deficient supply of energy. The altered protein, called elF2alpha, increases the production of an enzyme that, in turn, flips a switch to produce the sticky protein clumps. Vassar worked with human and mice brains in his research.

The study is published in the journal Neuron.

"This finding is significant because it suggests that improving blood flow to the brain might be an effective therapeutic approach to prevent or treat Alzheimer's," said Vassar

A simple preventive strategy people can follow to improve blood flow to the brain is getting exercise, reducing cholesterol and managing hypertension. (Read about "Getting Started on Fitness" "Cholesterol" "Hypertension: High Blood Pressure")

"If people start early enough, maybe they can dodge the bullet," Vassar said. For people who already have symptoms, vasodilators, which increase blood flow, may help the delivery of oxygen and glucose to the brain, he added.