Research has found that stopping smoking can reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. A team of scientists have uncovered a direct link between the degenerative brain condition and smoking, demonstrating that smoke causes brain changes that may lead to the condition developing.
The results of the work by the University of Texas Health Science Centre means that smokers could potentially protect themselves from the devastating effects of the disease by quitting.
Studies have already revealed that smokers may be putting themselves at a higher risk of Alzheimer’s as smoking can cause inflammation and oxidative stress, important factors in the disease’s development. Passive smokers also face an increased risk of mental decline.
The Texas study used mice exposed to cigarette smoke to demonstrate how the smoke increases some brain abnormalities linked to Alzheimer’s, such as neuro-inflammation.
With no current cure available for Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, treatment and research has focused on slowing down the effects of the disease. The results of the Texas study provide important insights into how the progression of the disease through cell malfunction and destruction could be slowed or halted, potentially leading to a cure.
The study showed that tau protein, an important part of memory and brain function, becomes defective when Alzheimer’s takes hold and begins to attack healthy cells. Cigarette smoke was seen to play a part in increasing the amount of defective tau protein along with amyloid, another protein abnormality found in the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers.
The study confirms that cigarette smoke is one of the environmental risk factors for developing Alzheimer’s with specialists in the degenerative condition urging smokers to consider quitting the habit to improve their chances of staying clear of the disease.
The Texas study called for further research into smoking and Alzheimer’s disease.
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