Stress and Neurodegeneration: Adding Insult to Injury?

A widely accepted notion states that mammalian stress reactions act to protect the organism in the short time range and that the price paid for that is manifested as delayed damages. Intriguingly, glucocorticoid induction, neuronal impairments and hippocampal atrophy are all involved in both stress reactions and Alzheimer ' s disease ( AD ), two situations in which changes in acetylcholinesterase ( ACHE ) gene expression have been demonstrated. Here, we describe common features of neuronal responses to psychological stress and AD - induced toxicity, review current data suggesting that stress may exacerbate AD pathology, and propose a molecular model in which alternative splicing - mediated changes in the cholinergic system inversely exert stress - related neuroprotection in the context of neurodegenerative diseases.