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Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia , currently affecting more than 7 million Americans - or, 1 in 9 in 9 aged 65 and over, according to the Alzheimer's association . This is why so many researchers examine both preventive measures and treatments for the disease. As for the first, there is no final answer, but experts know that high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lack of exercise, excessive sugar consumption and saturated fats and loneliness are all Risk factors For Alzheimer's disease. The good news is that most of these things are under our control. However, a new study finds two shocking reasons for which the risk of Alzheimer's increases increases differently in men and women - and, unfortunately, they are mainly beyond our control.

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A new study has examined how stressful situations affect the brain.

A new study published in the journal Neurology have found that stressful events, in particular the death of a partner or unemployment / financial loss, can have a different impact on the health of the brain depending on sex and level of education.

To achieve their results, researchers from Barcelona Institute for Global Health (Isglobal) and Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC) analyzed the health data of 1,290 people from Alfa ( Alzheimer's and families ) Cohort at the BBRC, a research platform created to study brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease. Participants had no cognitive impairment at the start of the study, but most of them had family history in Alzheimer's. They were aged 48 to 77.

"Using magnetic resonance imaging, we have studied the differences in gray matter volume in the brain and analyzed the biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease in cerebrospinal fluid, such as beta-amyloid protein," said Eleni Palpatzis , predoctoral researcher at Isglobal and first author of the study, in a press release .

To put this in context, gray matter is a type of brain tissue that affects "mental functions, memory, emotions and movement", notes Cleveland clinic . In someone's brain with Alzheimer's, abnormal levels of beta-amyloid proteins "come together to form plates that disrupt the function of cells", explains the National Institute on Aging (Nia). These proteins mean that the cells of gray matter die, as others have called tau protein and neurogranin. Often this can be an early sign of Alzheimer's disease.

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The death of a partner and financial stress affect brainwarming associated with Alzheimer's disease.

The researchers found that participants who have undergone the death of a partner showed the following brain changes:

• Indicators of larger beta -amyloid proteins - more pronounced in men and those who have lower education levels
• Higher levels of tau and neurogranin protein - no longer pronounced in women and those who have lower education levels

Then, the researchers found that financial stress also affected the brain of the participants:

• Unemployment has led to a volume of lower gray matter in the brain regions responsible for emotional and cognitive regulation - more pronounced in men
• Economic losses have also led to a volume of lower gray matter in the brain regions responsible for emotional and cognitive regulation - more pronounced in women

“Men seem to be more negatively affected by the loss of a partner (which affects proteins linked to the amyloid) and unemployment (which reduces gray matter). This may be due to the fact that men tend to have less close relationships, which makes the loss of a more isolating partner, therefore the loss of a partner is more isolated for them, and because unemployment carries a greater social stigma for men, "said the main author of the study, and because unemployment carries a greater social stigma for men," Men, "said the main author of the study, and the author of the main study, and because unemployment carries a greater social stigma for men," said the main study of the study, and the author of the main study, and because unemployment carries a greater social stigma for men, "said the main study of the study, and the author of the main study, and unemployment and unemployment Eider Arenaza-Urquijo , Isglobal researcher.

She continued: “On the other hand, women seem more vulnerable to financial difficulties, which affects the volume of gray matter.

It should be noted that 99% of the study participants were white, which is important because, as Alzheimer's association says: "Black Americans are more likely that older whites have Alzheimer's disease or another dementia".

Consequently, researchers recognize that "future research examining if these results are generalized to individuals from more diverse horizons are necessary".