Alzheimer's Disease Archive

Ask the doctors

Q. I have a very stressful job, and recently my blood pressure readings started going up. Could my job stress be the reason why?

A. Yes, chronic stress can affect blood pressure. Several hormones affect your heart's rhythm, including epinephrine and norepinephrine. When these hormone levels rise, your heart starts to work harder. Stress hormones can also constrict your blood vessels, causing temporary blood pressure spikes.

Infections aren't the only conditions that can cause discomfort.

Certain urinary symptoms are quite common, particularly in women: painful burning with urination, an urgent need to urinate like you can't hold it (urinary urgency), and urinating frequently (urinary frequency).

These symptoms can be caused by any of the following conditions.

Learn about the different kinds of experts and how they can help you.

Where should you turn when you suspect that you have a mental health condition: a psychiatrist, a psychologist, or some other type of mental health professional? It's tough to figure out what kind of clinician can best help you sort out your problems and provide the care you need.

Often a primary care visit is a good start. Your physician can assess your symptoms and refer you to a mental health professional for evaluation and appropriate treatment.

News briefs

We've reported before that heavy drinking is tied to an increased risk for developing dementia. A Harvard-led study published online Sept. 27, 2019, by JAMA Network Open suggests that the risk is even worse if you have mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Researchers analyzed the data of more than 3,000 dementia-free adults (average age 78, some with MCI) who reported their alcohol use and underwent psychological testing for six years. People with MCI who drank heavily (more than 14 drinks per week) had a 72% higher risk for dementia than people who drank less than one drink per week. However, people without MCI who drank moderately (seven to 14 drinks per week) didn't appear to have an increased risk for dementia, and even seemed to have a 37% lower risk for dementia compared with people who consumed less than one drink per week. The bottom line: "Our results suggest that moderation is the healthiest approach if you drink. And if you have mild cognitive impairment, you may want to reconsider drinking alcohol at all," says Dr. Kenneth Mukamal, a study author and researcher with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

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News briefs

A research team from Harvard reports that it has harnessed the powerful gene editing tool called CRISPR to recognize and kill viruses. The findings were published online Oct. 2, 2019, by Molecular Cell. CRISPR can alter strands of both DNA and RNA (a molecule related to DNA), which are built like strings of beads. Each bead consists of one of four chemicals called bases. CRISPR can recognize a specific sequence of bases (such as one that is characteristic of a particular virus), latch on to that sequence and cut it, and change the sequence to a different one. This can scramble the genetic sequence of a virus in such a way that the virus no longer can make copies of itself. The Harvard team used this technique to kill several viruses that are made of RNA — including influenza virus — in a laboratory dish. The next step will be to see if the CRISPR technique can also be used to kill viruses in a living animal. That will be much harder. However, if it works, the technique might someday help humans fight viral infections.

Image: © Bill Oxford/Getty Images

Research we're watching

If you suffer from migraine headaches, there's a new option available to relieve your pain. In October 2019, the FDA approved lasmiditan (Reyvow) to treat migraine pain in adults. Taken as a pill, it works for migraines either with or without an aura (a visual disturbance within the hour before migraine pain starts). Lasmiditan is not designed to prevent migraines. Lasmiditan is the first migraine treatment in a class of drugs known as serotonin (5-HT) 1F receptor agonists. In studies, researchers found that it could relieve pain and other migraine symptoms within two hours.

Migraines affect an estimated 28 million women in the United States, according to the American Migraine Foundation, and the World Health Organization ranks them among the top 10 disabling conditions. Pain and other symptoms, which may include nausea, sensitivity to light and temporary vision changes, result in lost work days, reduced productivity, and diminished quality of life for many people.

These tips can help you recall the details from past events and learn from them.

Does this sound familiar? You can't recall the name of someone you met before. Or you forget the time-saving shortcut from a previous car trip. Or you repeatedly make the same silly mistake doing a once-familiar task.

It's frustrating when you can't recall certain past details. You may chalk it up to "senior moments." But, the actual problem is a breakdown in your episodic memory, the brain's largest and most complex memory system.

In the journals

Over-the-counter pain medicines that contain caffeine can be effective at stopping some headaches. But drinking a large amount of caffeinated beverages might actually trigger a headache for some people with migraines, according to a study published in the August 2019 issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

Researchers recruited almost 100 people with migraines who suffered from fewer than 15 headaches per month. For six weeks, they recorded the timing and characteristics of each migraine and their intake of caffeinated beverages.

Eosinophilic esophagitis is an allergic inflammation of the esophagus that most typically develops as an allergic response to certain foods. The exact cause is unclear, but if left untreated it can lead to permanent scarring or narrowing of the esophagus.

Take the lowest dose of NSAIDs and stop using them as soon as possible.

Blood thinners are usually given to people at risk for developing blood clots from conditions, such as abnormal heart rhythms. Use of these lifesaving medications requires caution with other drugs, especially painkillers called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (Aleve). But plenty of people take the risk to relieve aches and pains. "Many of the patients who need blood thinners are older and therefore at risk for arthritis, so it's not infrequent for a patient to be on both a blood thinner and an NSAID," says cardiologist Dr. Deepak L. Bhatt, a Harvard Medical School professor.