Could Low Testosterone Lead to Alzheimer’s?

WebMD (10/8, Boyles, http://tinyurl.com/lowt-alzheimers) reported that low testosterone levels in older men with memory problems may signal progression to Alzheimer’s disease or increase the risk for developing age-related dementia.  In a newly published study, older Chinese men with early memory declines who did not yet have Alzheimer’s were far more likely to develop Alzheimer’s over a year of follow-up if they had low testosterone.  The study was small, but the findings suggest low testosterone may be an independent risk factor for rapid cognitive decline in older men with early memory loss, according to Saint Louis University Medical Center professor of gerontology John Morley, MD .  All the men underwent testing to assess memory function at enrollment, and 47 were determined to have evidence of mild cognitive impairment.  Over the course of the next year, 10 men received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.   All were in the previously identified group with early memory declines and all had low levels of free testosterone in blood samples.  While the research suggests a role for testosterone in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, study researcher Scott Moffat, PhD, says it is too soon to recommend testosterone treatment for men at risk for cognitive decline. “It is not really clear if testosterone is protecting the men in these studies or if levels are reflective of some other factor, such as overall better health,” he tells WebMD.

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Short Memory Test devolped to Identify Alzheimer’s/Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).

HealthDay (4/8, Dotinga, http://tinyurl.com/MCI-test) reported that  Doug Scharre, MD  has developed a brief memory test to help doctors determine whether someone is suffering from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), which can signal the development of Alzheimer’s disease.  In a study in the journal Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, neurologist Dr. Douglas Scharre of Ohio State University Medical Center reports that the test detected 80 percent of people with mild thinking and memory problems. In a press release, Scharre said the test could help people get earlier care for conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.  “It’s a recurring problem,” he said. “People don’t come in early enough for a diagnosis, or families generally resist making the appointment because they don’t want confirmation of their worst fears.  Whatever the reason, it’s unfortunate because the drugs we’re using now work better the earlier they are started.  “The test can be taken by hand, which Scharre said may help people who aren’t comfortable with technology like computers.   He’s making the tests, which take 15 minutes to complete, available free to health workers at www.sagetest.osu.edu. 

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Memory May Deteriorate Quickly In People With Mild Cognitive Impairment.

HealthDay (3/22, Preidt, http://tinyurl.com/MCI-Alzheimer) reported that “memory and thinking skills can deteriorate quickly in people with mild cognitive impairment, the stage before Alzheimer’s disease.”  The study involved 1,158 people, who averaged 79 years old. The group included 149 people with Alzheimer’s disease, 395 with mild cognitive impairment and 614 with no thinking or memory problems.  The scores of people with mild cognitive impairment declined twice as fast each year as did scores of those with no memory problems. The scores for people with Alzheimer’s declined four times as fast as those of participants with no cognitive problems.  The results are in the March 23 issue of Neurology.  “The changes in rate of decline occur as the brain atrophies due to the disease, first mainly in the hippocampus during the initial symptomatic stage, referred to as mild cognitive impairment, then in the temporal, parietal and frontal cortex during the dementing illness phase of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. David S. Knopman, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., who wrote an editorial accompanying the study.

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Copper Pipes Could Cause Alzheimer’s Disease.

The UK’s Telegraph (1/22, Alleyne http://tinyurl.com/copper-alzheimers) reports that some scientists have claimed people should remove old copper pipes from their homes or install special filters because the metal has been shown to build up in their bodies and cause serious health problems.  They have warned that tiny traces of copper from pipes can mix with tap water and then consumed by people.  Over a long period of time this leads to a build-up of copper in the body which then leads to Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and diabetes because the body cannot process the metal.  The study found people over 50 should also avoid vitamin and mineral pills that contain cooper and iron, lowering meat intake and avoid drinking water from copper pipes.  They should also donate blood regularly to reduce iron levels and taking zinc supplements to lower copper levels.  Copper and iron are essential when people are young as they help during the years when people are trying to have children.  But the body can no longer process them effectively when people move beyond 50 years old.  The study from the American Chemical Society found that people were at risk from copper as they aged.   The study, the “Risks of Copper and Iron Toxicity during Ageing in Humans”, was published in the American Chemical Society’s Chemical Research in Toxicology journal.

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Loss of Smell Could Be Early Sign of Alzheimer’s.

HealthDay (1/12, Dotinga, http://tinyurl.com/alzheimers-smell) reported that, according to a study published in the Jan. 13 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, research in mice suggests that loss of smell could serve as an early indicator of Alzheimer’s disease.  “People with Alzheimer’s are already known to suffer from loss of smell.  But the new research pinpoints a direct link between development of amyloid plaques — the bits of gunk in the brain that cause Alzheimer’s disease — and a worsening sense of smell.  Researchers found that the plaques first develop in the part of the mouse brain that’s devoted to the sense of smell.  When tested, the mice with the plaques had to spend more time sniffing odors to remember them, and they had a hard time telling the difference between odors.  This is a revealing finding because, unlike a brain scan, a laboratory-designed olfactory test may be an inexpensive alternative to early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.”

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Cell Phones Can Prevent Alzheimer’s.

According to an article published in the The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (http://tinyurl.com/cell-alzheimers), a study done at the Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center revealed that “long-term exposure to electromagnetic waves associated with cell phone use may actually protect against, and even reverse, Alzheimer’s disease”.  “The researchers showed that exposing old Alzheimer’s mice to electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones erased brain deposits of the harmful protein beta-amyloid, in addition to preventing the protein’s build-up in younger Alzheimer’s mice.  The sticky brain plaques formed by the abnormal accumulation of beta amyloid are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Most treatments against Alzheimer’s try to target beta-amyloid”.   The study ”involved 96 mice, most of which were genetically altered to develop beta-amyloid plaques and memory problems mimicking Alzheimer’s disease as they aged.  Both the Alzheimer’s and normal mice were exposed to the electromagnetic field generated by standard cell phone use for two 1-hour periods each day for seven to nine months”.  The months of cell phone exposure actually boosted the memory of non-demented (normal mice) to above-normal levels and the increase in brain temperature helped the Alzheimer’s brain to remove newly-formed beta-amyloid by causing brain cells to release it.

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Ginkgo Biloba Does Not Prevent Cognitive Decline in Older Adults.

According to a December article in the Journal of the American Medical Association  (JAMA. 2009;302(24):2663-2670. http://tinyurl.com/ginko-dementia) Ginkgo Biloba did not slow the rates of global or domain-specific cognitive decline in older adults.  The herbal product Ginkgo Biloba is taken frequently with the intention of improving cognitive health in aging.  However, evidence from adequately powered clinical trials is lacking regarding its effect on long-term cognitive functioning.   The Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory (GEM) study, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of 3069 community-dwelling participants aged 72 to 96 years, was conducted in 6 academic medical centers in the United States between 2000 and 2008.  Twice-daily dose of 120-mg extract of G biloba or identical-appearing placebo were given.  Rates of change over time in the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination and in neuropsychological domains of memory, attention, visual-spatial construction, language, and executive functions were evaluated .  Annual rates of decline in the scores did not differ between G biloba and placebo groups in any domains, including memory, attention, visuospatial abilities, language and executive functions.  Compared with placebo, the use of G biloba, 120 mg twice daily, did not result in less cognitive decline in older adults with normal cognition or with mild cognitive impairment.

 

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Grape Juice Can Reduce Memory Loss

The UK’s Telegraph(http://tinyurl.com/grape-juice-and-memory 12/9) reports that scientists from the University of Cincinnati’s psychiatry department carried out a study which involved 12 people with early memory loss drinking pure 100 per cent Concord grape juice for 12 weeks.   The results showed an improvement the longer the trial went on in the half of the group who were drinking the juice.  Experts believe this proves the brain-boosting powers of antioxidants contained in the skin and juice of the grapes.  A simple, easy-to-incorporate dietary intervention that could improve or protect memory function, such as drinking Concord grape juice, may be beneficial for the ageing population.   A 2006 US study conducted at Vanderbilt University revealed drinking fruit and vegetable juices frequently could significantly cut the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.  US researchers followed almost 2,000 people for up to 10 years – providing a powerful set of results. They found the risk was 76 per cent lower for those who drank juice more than three times a week, compared with those who drank it less than once-a-week.   Alzheimer’s is linked to the accumulation of clumps of beta-amyloid protein in the brain.  There is a suggestion this process may be controlled by the chemical hydrogen peroxide.

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NSAIDs May Have Protective Effects Against Alzheimer’s.

HealthDay (http://tinyurl.com/NSAIDS-and-Alzheimers 11/10, Preidt) reported that a study in mice found that “taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) from a young age might prevent early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.” During the study, appearing in the Nov. 9 edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, “researchers looking for triggers of neuronal [cell cycle events (CCEs)] found evidence that suggests that neuroinflammation plays a role in the development of Alzheimer’s in mice.” While “treatment with the NSAIDs ibuprofen or naproxen blocked the development of CCEs,” it “did not affect existing CCEs” in older mice.

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Study indicates some visuospatial skills may decline three years before Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

 HealthDay (10/12, Preidt) reported that, according to a study published in the Oct. issue of the Archives of Neurology, “the ability to perceive relationships between objects (visuospatial skills) may decline years before a person is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.” In a study population of 444 people, researchers from the University of Kansas “used data from…cognitive assessments to chart declines in various areas before participants were diagnosed with dementia. They found an inflection point (sudden change to a steeper slope of decline) in visuospatial abilities three years before clinical diagnosis of dementia.” After that, “declines in overall cognition occurred the next year, while inflection points for verbal and working memory weren’t seen until one year before diagnosis.”   The UK’s Telegraph (10/13, Devlin) quotes the authors as saying that “research into early detection of cognitive disorders using only episodic memory tasks, such as word lists or paragraph recall, may not be sensitive to either all of the earliest manifestations of disease or the most rapidly changing domain.”

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