Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Sep 26:14:1012779.
doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.1012779. eCollection 2022.

Ischemia as a common trigger for Alzheimer's disease

Karin Elman-Shina  1   2   3 , Shai Efrati  1   2   3   4
Affiliations

Ischemia as a common trigger for Alzheimer's disease

Karin Elman-Shina et al. Front Aging Neurosci. .

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease has various potential etiologies, all culminating in the accumulation of beta -amyloid derivatives and significant cognitive decline. Vascular-related pathology is one of the more frequent etiologies, especially in persons older than 65 years, as vascular risk factors are linked to both cerebrovascular disease and the development of AD. The vascular patho-mechanism includes atherosclerosis, large and small vessel arteriosclerosis, cortical and subcortical infarcts, white matter lesions, and microbleeds. These insults cause hypoperfusion, tissue ischemia, chronic inflammation, neuronal death, gliosis, cerebral atrophy, and accumulation of beta-amyloid and phosphorylated tau proteins. In preclinical studies, hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been shown to reverse brain ischemia, and thus alleviate inflammation, reverse the accumulation of beta-amyloid, induce regeneration of axonal white matter, stimulate axonal growth, promote blood-brain barrier integrity, reduce inflammatory reactions, and improve brain performance. In this perspective article we will summarize the patho-mechanisms induced by brain ischemia and their contribution to the development of AD. We will also review the potential role of interventions that aim to reverse brain ischemia, and discuss their relevance for clinical practice.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; brain oxygenation; cerebral ischemia; cognitive improvement; hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy; neuroinflammation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The patho-mechanisms induced by brain ischemia and the development of Alzheimer’s disease, and the counteractive effects of anti-amyloid medications and HBOT.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Aliev G., Priyadarshini M., Reddy V. P., Grieg N. H., Kaminsky Y., Cacabelos R., et al. (2014). Oxidative stress mediated mitochondrial and vascular lesions as markers in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease. Curr. Med. Chem. 21 2208–2217. 10.2174/0929867321666131227161303 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Attems J., Jellinger K. A. (2014). The overlap between vascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease–lessons from pathology. BMC Med. 12:206. 10.1186/s12916-014-0206-2 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ballarini T. D., Melo van Lent J., Brunner A., Schroder S., Altenstein S., et al. (2021). Mediterranean Diet, Alzheimer Disease Biomarkers and Brain Atrophy in Old Age. Neurology 96:e2920–e2932. 10.1212/WNL.0000000000012067 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Boussi-Gross R., Golan H., Volkov O., Bechor Y., Hoofien D., Beeri M. S., et al. (2015). Improvement of memory impairments in poststroke patients by hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Neuropsychology 29 610–621. 10.1037/neu0000149 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Breijyeh Z., Karaman R. (2020). Comprehensive Review on Alzheimer’s Disease: Causes and Treatment. Molecules 25:5789. 10.3390/molecules25245789 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources