The Link Between Anxiety and Alzheimer's | Oz Wellness - video Dailymotion

Dr. Oz

Dr. Oz examines the possible link between chronic anxiety and Alzheimer's. Learn the difference between good stress and bad stress and how to reduce stressors in your life.

Transcript

00:00 How often would you say you are stressed?

00:02 Once a month, once a week, what about every day?

00:05 If you're living in a constant state of stress and anxiety,

00:08 you are most certainly not alone.

00:10 While you may think your chronic anxiety

00:11 is just a part of your daily life,

00:13 you might actually be headed towards a dangerous diagnosis

00:15 'cause there are studies now suggesting

00:17 that there may be a link in the development of Alzheimer's

00:20 and those suffering from chronic anxiety.

00:22 Joining us now via Zoom is the director

00:23 of the Genetics and Aging Research Group

00:26 at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Rudolph Tanzi,

00:29 who is going to talk to us about Alzheimer's.

00:31 Rudy, to understand the connection

00:32 between anxiety and Alzheimer's,

00:33 we've got to go back to the basics

00:34 and look at what happens to the brain

00:36 of someone who has Alzheimer's.

00:37 So describe to everyone what's really going on

00:39 in your research with these patients' brains

00:41 when they have that diagnosis.

00:43 - You know, your brain contains 100 billion nerve cells

00:47 connected by trillions of connections

00:49 and it makes what we call a neural network.

00:51 And every experience you have shapes

00:53 and weaves this neural network like an amazing tapestry.

00:56 Pathology begins somewhere after 40

00:58 and it starts to take apart this tapestry thread by thread.

01:03 And it begins with this sticky, toxic material

01:05 called amyloid.

01:07 And the newest findings reveal that this toxic amyloid

01:10 actually begins in a circuit in the brain

01:13 that provides you with your unique personality, who you are.

01:16 It's called the default mode network.

01:19 And what we've learned is very important

01:21 is that the more active this default mode network is,

01:24 the more amyloid is made

01:26 'cause the amyloid actually helps control it.

01:29 But if there's too much amyloid,

01:30 it gradually causes those nerve cells to die and malfunction

01:33 and this leads to Alzheimer's disease.

01:36 - This is unbelievable insights.

01:37 Nothing like this has been thought of years,

01:40 certainly when I was training.

01:41 So beta amyloid plaque is sticky

01:43 and it moves to clump together.

01:45 So over time, the plaque, which may be barely noticeable,

01:48 right, early in the course of disease,

01:50 will get more dense, thicker, stickier,

01:54 and bigger and bigger

01:55 until they literally strangle the nerve cells.

01:57 And again, it's all related to inflammation and irritation.

02:00 And it's initially a good thing you probably,

02:02 you have to have some of this beta amyloid,

02:04 but you say anxiety can increase the amount

02:05 of beta amyloid in the brain.

02:07 So you go from this minimal case

02:09 to this more severe case more rapidly.

02:11 - Yeah, it turns out that with chronic stress and anxiety,

02:15 like worrying about the future

02:17 or even obsessing about the past,

02:20 this actually puts these nerve cells

02:21 in this default mode network

02:23 that maintains who you are.

02:24 It puts them into overdrive.

02:26 So if the default mode network is over activated

02:28 with worry, anxiety, and stress,

02:30 more amyloid has to be made,

02:32 then it gradually destroys that circuitry in the brain,

02:36 eventually destroying your own personality,

02:39 erasing you along with it over time.

02:42 - Thanks for being here, Rudy.

02:43 All right, now I want you to have

02:44 the strongest brain possible

02:45 and to thrive for many years to come.

02:47 So to help us here figure out

02:48 how to deal with these stressors

02:49 and curb the problems is neurologist

02:51 and co-director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Program

02:53 Dr. Aisha Serzai.

02:54 Not all stress is the same.

02:56 So which stresses build up our problems

02:58 and create the plaque that we just showed?

03:01 - So there are things that are good,

03:04 good stress and bad stress.

03:06 Good stress is the kind of stress

03:07 that our brain thrives on.

03:09 Now, these are the kinds of stress

03:11 that you have control over.

03:12 These are the stresses that you impose in your life.

03:14 They have a clear timeline.

03:16 They have success parameters.

03:17 So these are things that you can check off.

03:19 Bad stress, on the other hand,

03:20 is the kind of stress that has no end to it.

03:24 It doesn't have any timeline.

03:25 It's imposed on you.

03:26 And that actually creates neurochemical changes

03:29 and hormonal changes in our body

03:31 that eventually leads to Alzheimer's disease.

03:33 - So let's walk over to Cloud.

03:34 Cloud, like so many of the viewers,

03:35 says she's here because she's worried

03:36 her anxiety is gonna have a lasting effect on her brain.

03:39 First off, thanks for being here.

03:40 Be honest. - You're welcome.

03:41 - How do you typically deal with your stress?

03:43 - Oh. (blows raspberry)

03:45 Well, what I like to do is exercise or dance

03:49 or be in nature or meditate,

03:52 but I haven't been doing that very often.

03:54 - Yep, COVID shuts it down. - Yeah.

03:55 - So you just internalize it, hold onto it?

03:57 - Oh, yeah.

03:58 And I go to bed and I can't fall asleep

04:00 and I'm worrying and I'm worrying and I'm worrying.

04:02 - So what's stressing you out right now?

04:03 Give me a list of five things.

04:04 - Okay, great.

04:05 Kids, work deadlines, work morale, ex-husband, sleep.

04:09 - You have to memorize, that's good.

04:11 They're up there for everybody.

04:12 So Decker, here's why.

04:13 Look at these five stressors.

04:14 They're not all equally a problem,

04:15 which was the good stressors, quote unquote.

04:17 They're not really good,

04:18 that they might be bad things to happen,

04:20 but they're not bad for your brain.

04:21 - Right. - Which are the

04:22 bad stressors?

04:23 - Well, in this situation,

04:24 I would say the ex-husband is a bad stress.

04:27 I think the children could be good stress.

04:30 Your work is actually the good stress

04:32 because it's something that you've chosen.

04:34 Parts of your job might be bad,

04:36 but in totality, it's good stress.

04:38 And the fourth one was?

04:40 - Sleep. - Sleep.

04:41 That could be bad stress, definitely.

04:43 But it's something that you can control

04:44 and you can change and modify, hopefully.

04:47 - So how do we calm our mind in times of stress?

04:49 You just mentioned the two examples

04:51 of good and bad stresses,

04:52 but it's how we cope with them

04:54 is probably a big part of the puzzle.

04:55 - Oh, definitely.

04:56 I think there are multiple ways we can cope with our stress.

04:58 And you talked about dancing and exercising.

05:01 Those are great.

05:02 But in life, when we're faced with bad stress,

05:05 at that moment, it's difficult to kind of withdraw yourself

05:08 and go ahead and meditate and so on and so forth.

05:11 So an easy way is to kind of stop,

05:14 create a moment of silence in your mind,

05:16 and ask yourself, why am I doing this?

05:19 The why is very important.

05:21 Is this particular task associated with my purpose in life?

05:25 Is this good for me?

05:26 Is this going to help me grow?

05:28 And if the answer is yes,

05:30 then actually that is a good stress.

05:31 And so you go into it with an open heart and try to fix it.

05:35 But if the answer is no,

05:36 this is not something that is good for me,

05:38 then what you try to do is either delegate it

05:41 or reduce it or eliminate it as much as possible.

05:44 - All right, up next, could your anti-anxiety medication

05:46 be linked to Alzheimer's?

05:48 You want to find out, stay tuned.

05:50 Could you be getting more than what you bargained for

05:52 when it comes to your anti-anxiety medication?

05:54 Last year, anti-anxiety medication prescriptions

05:57 shot up over 30% in just a month of March, 2020.

06:01 There's a lot of things to panic about.

06:02 So not surprisingly, prescriptions went up.

06:04 But studies may be suggesting

06:06 that your anxiety medications could be increasing

06:08 your chances of developing Alzheimer's.

06:10 Back to help us understand the potential link

06:12 between long-term use of anxiety medication

06:13 and the development of Alzheimer's

06:15 is neurologist and co-director

06:16 of the Alzheimer's Prevention Program

06:17 at Loma Linda University, Dr. Ayesha Serzai.

06:20 So what kinds of anti-anxiety medications

06:22 have been linked to this potential development of Alzheimer's?

06:24 - Yeah, the latest studies have shown us

06:26 that medications like benzodiazepines,

06:28 you know, the Alprazolam, Diazepam,

06:31 these medications, especially long-term use

06:34 of these medications,

06:35 have been associated with cognitive decline.

06:37 But the science is not very clear on that yet.

06:39 Is it because of the medication

06:41 or is it because when people start having

06:43 cognitive decline, they have a lot of anxiety?

06:45 And the treatment of that anxiety

06:47 has been linked with the whole picture

06:49 of Alzheimer's disease.

06:50 So it's not very clear,

06:51 but it does kind of show a direction towards that.

06:54 - So let me just show a hypothesis,

06:55 what I did that might explain this.

06:57 And this is a deeper look into how benzodiazepines

06:59 work in the brain and might explain

07:00 if they're linked to Alzheimer's why.

07:02 Now there's a chemical in the body called GABA, G-A-B-A.

07:05 This chemical's job is to act like a security guard, right?

07:08 It can block or inhibit certain brain signals

07:10 that can cause you stress, anxiety, or fear.

07:13 So if it's a security guard

07:14 and chill vibes are coming at you,

07:16 it says fine, let's them all in.

07:18 But bad feelings, security guard stands up tall,

07:22 puts his arm up and shuts them down, blocks them out.

07:25 Right, if your body isn't making enough GABA on its own,

07:28 a benzodiazepine might be prescribed

07:30 to sort of support the security guard.

07:32 This is a type of sedative medication

07:34 that can increase the effects of GABA.

07:36 Now the hypothesized danger lies

07:37 in taking the medication for a prolonged period of time.

07:40 Benzodiazepines may suppress the normal functioning

07:42 of the brain that possibly could impair the ability

07:45 to form new memories, to perform cognitive tasks,

07:47 to the body to repair itself.

07:49 So ideally you learn to cope

07:51 without having to take the medication if that's the case.

07:53 So how could it be happening?

07:55 - So we're really not sure,

07:56 but I think if people are on these medications,

08:00 these medications tend to slow you down.

08:03 They kind of help you, you know,

08:04 they actually stop you from engaging

08:06 with other individuals, with your activities.

08:09 And I think one of the reasons why we're seeing

08:12 more cognitive decline in people

08:13 who take long-term benzodiazepines

08:16 is because they really stop interacting with the world.

08:20 But we still are waiting for better studies

08:22 to show us the link appropriately.

08:24 - Cut to the chase, since you're an expert.

08:25 Is there a reason to be worried?

08:27 - No, the last thing you want to do

08:28 is worry about your anxiety-relieving medication.

08:31 There's no need to.

08:32 But I think it's important for us to be aware

08:34 so we can have conversation with our physicians

08:36 and for them to supervise it, what the dose is,

08:39 how long you're supposed to be on it,

08:40 and if there are better choices

08:42 as opposed to these medications.

08:43 - So just to reemphasize this,

08:44 if you're currently being prescribed

08:46 a benzodiazepine for anxiety,

08:47 this is not a reason to come off.

08:49 You should continue being monitored by your doc.

08:51 Thanks for the practical advice as always.

08:53 - Of course, my pleasure.

08:53 - Find out everything you want to know

08:54 about how to protect yourself from Alzheimer's.

08:57 You can do that by checking out Dr. Sherzod's book,

08:58 "The 30-Day Alzheimer's Plan."

09:00 It's out now.

09:00 Thank you for watching.

09:01 Don't forget to subscribe and turn on notifications

09:03 so you never miss out on new videos to live the good life.

The Link Between Anxiety and Alzheimer's | Oz Wellness

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