Chronic stress brain aging and cognitive dysfunction.docVIP

 PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 17 Chronic stress brain aging and cognitive dysfunction [Keywords:] Chronic stress; aging; cognitive function; hippocampus Stress the word, the original terms of physics, which means tension or pressure, first introduced by the selye Medicine, said that the pressures in the external environment (ie, unfavorable or harmful factor stimulation), the body in which a state a series of reactions that occurred. substantial evidence that stress can damage brain function, resulting in abnormal individual intellectual spirit. With the extension of human life expectancy, the emergence of the aging trend, the incidence of dementia increase year by year, it has become a modern society is very serious health problems, and brought great financial burden. In recent years, the negative effects of stress on aging and the stress and Alzheimer disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases associated more and more attention. Therefore, understanding the stress lead to brain function decline, and the specific mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction for clinical prevention and treatment of dementia, and mental health care for the elderly is necessary. Here, we study the mechanism and theories are reviewed. 1 neuroendocrine responses Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) is the major mammalian stress-related neuroendocrine system (1). By the role of HPA, the body can adapt to various changes in vivo. Glucocorticoids and stress is the HPA in most closely related to the hormone, its release by the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus of the secretion of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) regulation. CRH acts on the pituitary portal system, leading to pituitary release of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), the final result adrenal cortex to secrete glucocorticoids. When the threat is over, elevated glucocorticoids can in turn act on the hypothalamus and pituitary, CRH and ACTH release termination, the end of the stress response, in order to avoid exc