Connections Between the Ability to Cope with Stress and Tau Burden

The relationship between psychological stress and neurodegenerative syndromes has been established clinically. In animal models, paradigms of chronic stress are associated with exacerbation of tau pathology. In this cross-sectional study enrolling 225 cognitively unimpaired older adults (mean age, 70), researchers assessed the connection between stress coping ability (measured on a 6-item resiliency scale) and tau burden on positron emission tomography (PET).

Higher stress coping ability was correlated with lower tau burden in brain regions relevant to neurodegenerative conditions (e.g., entorhinal cortex). The findings were not affected by amyloid positivity or sex.