Scientists have found a link between increased anxiety and the accumulation in the brain of beta-amyloids - substances leading to the death of neurons in Alzheimer's disease. In the future, the discovery will reveal the propensity to this disease in the early stages, when its development can still be slowed down.
Psychiatrists studied the results of the Geriatric Depression Scale questionnaires, which the elderly filled every year.
These questionnaires were designed to detect depression, but scientists were only interested in one symptom - high anxiety. The graph of the level of anxiety was compared with the general results of interviews and images of participants' brains. It was found that anxiety increased with simultaneous accumulation of more amyloid beta. At the same time, most people did not have problems with memory and other cognitive functions.
This is important, since there are no drugs that work in the late stages of Alzheimer's disease. Modern drugs can only slow down the development of the disease in the early stages.