Stress, Alzheimer's, and Black Brain Disease

Dr.Marie-Ève Tremblay  of Laval University in Québec in Canada recently announced the discovery of "mysteriously shrunken" brain cells that seem to be associated with Alzheimer's disease. 

Not sure whether the cells cause Alzheimer's disease or a consequence of the condition, Dr. Tremblay says that the dead or dying cells are microglia, a type of brain cell that is normally tasked with keeping the brain free of infection. Microglia also cut unwanted connections between functioning brain cells. Dr. Tremblay said that the cells had not been noticed before because they do not absorb the stains most often used to identify cells on slides to be placed under the microscope.

Brain Connection Killers in Lab Animals

The aberrant and destructive brain cells congregate and synapses, the tiny gaps between neurons over which information passes. As the microglia gather at synapses, it seems to degrade, before the neurons themselves die.

The numbers of microglia, at least in laboratory mice, increase as the brain ages, and they also seem to increase during stress. The brains of mice that have a condition analogous to Alzheimer's disease in humans have 10 times as many microglia as are found in the brains of normal mice.

Also Found in Humans

These cell-sized connection killers have also been found in human brains. Although they are not as prominent in human brains as they seem to be in mouse brains, Dr. Tremblay noted that the brain of a person who died of Alzheimer's at the age of 45 had twice as many microglia as would be expected in a healthy brain. Tremblay and other researchers believe that these especially destructive "dark" microglia may power the destructive processes that cause dementia.

Why Would Microglia Smother Brain Connections?

One of the questions addressed by researchers is why microglia, which normally prune superfluous connections between neurons, would start cutting connections needed for normal function of the brain. Researchers think that one possibility may be erroneous signaling, which causes the microglia to accelerate their usual cleanup schedule.

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Another possibility is that the destruction of brain tissue by the dark microglia may be a response to physical stress. It is well know that inflammation from outside the brain accelerates chronic brain conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Conditions that destroy joints or kidney tissue or skin generate inflammatory cytokines that can also damage the brain. Generally poor health makes dementia worse.

But yet another possibility is that the stress that is the problem is a stress in the microglia themselves. As these tiny clean up cells become more destructive, they also take on a darker coloration under the microscope. Experiments have found that microglia darken as they are deprived of oxygen (something that would happen if hardening of the arteries reduced circulation to the brain) and as they respond to assault by free radicals of oxygen, which are more active when blood sugar levels are high and during infection, injury, or chemotherapy. Dark microglia have been found to have defective DNA and damaged proteins.

What Can You Do to Protect Your Brain from Stress?

Researchers don't yet know a direct way to protect microglia. There is no diet, no supplement, and no daily routine that can protect your brain specifically from this kind of damage. However, there are a number of things you can to do protect your brain from stress:

1. If you are diabetic, keep your blood sugar levels in good control. Alzheimer's disease is not without reason sometimes described as "type 3 diabetes." When brain cells lose the ability to absorb the glucose they need from the bloodstream, they need to be fed ketones, but it's not possible for your body to produce ketones if you eat too much carbohydrate.

2. If you are not diabetic, give your brain an occasional break from food. Once or twice a week, eat a late breakfast but eat your dinner early, or skip a meal altogether. When brain cells are not constantly bombarded with nutrients from food, they are free to break down and "eat" defective proteins with themselves. Brain cells don't get a chance to break down their defective proteins, however, if they are constantly being provided with new nutrients.

3. Don't try to follow a complicated nutritional supplement routine to increase antioxidant activity in your brain. There's nothing harmful in taking a balance program of antioxidant supplements, but you can actually do yourself harm by taking just one, and you actually do more good by eating less than by supplementing more.

4. Even if you don't like hearing it, if you smoke, you need to quit. It can't be denied that a hit of nicotine can make you feel better. It's actually true that smokers have lower rates of Parkinson's disease. However, the overall effects of smoking are detrimental for brain health, even if they slightly reduce the risk of Parkinson's.

5. Stay active physically and mentally. Both physical and mental activity are essential to preserving brain health. Physical exercise helps to preserve the integrity of the neuron network and also maintains the volume of the brain. Mental exercise helps your brain continue to make new connections between neurons and keeps their connections plastic, helping them to find ways around broken connections to keep your memories and your abilities intact.

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6. Stay connected socially. People who keep up their social activities tend to maintain their brain volume. Social activity is particularly important for maintaining the structural integrity and volume of the amygdala, which regulates fear reactions and keeps emotions from going out of control.

7. Keep on learning. Even at the age of 75, learning something new, whether it's taking a class, taking up a new hobby, learning a new sport or a new language, traveling, participating in theater or music performance, or taking on a second (or third or fourth) career can help preserve your brain. It takes more and more effort to learn something new, and you can find the experience frustrating. However, choose small tasks you can master completely, and have fun. Enjoying your life also preserves your brain.