A traumatic moment in your past may increase your risk of later developing a serious illness

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A new study has found that traumatic life events and memories can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Scientists in Spain said that if someone goes through a traumatic experience, such as divorce or death, they are more susceptible to Alzheimer's symptoms at an early age.

The study showed that when a person develops Alzheimer's disease, his body begins to produce a much larger amount of two types of natural proteins in the body: amyloid and tau. Since the brain is connected to the spinal cord, the research team took samples of the spinal fluid of the participants (numbering 1,290), and found that people who suffer from excessive stress have greater amounts of amyloid and tau floating around their bodies. Also note that this only applies to people who experienced traumatic events in childhood or middle age.

Dr. Susan Albers, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic, said that when you feel stressed, your immune system is stimulated as if you were sick, and you develop inflammation throughout your body, which may accelerate the aging process.

Stressful events can cause your body to secrete a certain type of steroid, called glucocorticoids, the release of which in large quantities has been shown to harm brain cells.

The research team explained that an extensive study is still needed to understand whether this is applicable in all fields.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Neurological Society.