Midlife Obesity Raises Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease Later
April 12, 2011 by Dr. Marc Darrow, M.D.
Filed under Alzheimer's Disease
Researchers reporting at the American Academy of Neurology 58th Annual Meeting in San Diego this week say that midlife obesity raises the risk for Alzheimer’s.
From the American Academy of Neurology press release:
“People who are overweight or obese in their 40s have a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 58th Annual Meeting in San Diego, Calif., April 1 – 8, 2006.
For the study, researchers followed nearly 9,000 people over a period of up to 30 years. The study participants were evaluated for overweight and obesity by measuring skinfold thickness below the shoulder and at the back of the upper arm. Those with higher skinfold measurements in their 40s were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those with smaller skinfold measurements.
Those in the highest group of shoulder skinfold measurements were nearly three times as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease as those in the lowest group. For the arm measurements, those in the highest group were 2½ times as likely to develop Alzheimer’s as those in the lowest group.”
Read the entire press release at the American Academy of Neurology website
Alzheimer’s Disease Research
April 12, 2011 by Dr. Marc Darrow, M.D.
Filed under Alzheimer's Disease
Insulin and Aging
A new study, to be published, says that high insulin levels, among both diabetics and non-diabetics, may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.
To quote the authors of the study “Although this model has obvious relevance for diabetes mellitus, hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are widespread conditions that affect many nondiabetic adults with obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension. Our results provide a cautionary note for the current epidemic of such conditions, which, in the context of an aging population, may provoke a dramatic increase in the prevalence of AD (Alzheimer’s).”
You can read the entire article at the Journal of Neurology
Obesity and vascular risk factors at midlife and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease.
Kivipelto M, Ngandu T, Fratiglioni L, Viitanen M, Kareholt I, Winblad B, Helkala EL, Tuomilehto J, Soininen H, Nissinen A. Arch Neurol. 2005 Oct;62(10):1556-60.
From the abstract: “Obesity at midlife is associated with an increased risk of dementia and AD (Alzheimer’s Disease) later in life. Clustering of vascular risk factors increases the risk in an additive manner. The role of weight reduction for the prevention of dementia needs to be further investigated.”
Read the abstract
Brain Estrogen Deficiency and Alzheimer’s Disease
Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), researchers studied the effects of estrogen deficiency and Alzheimer’s Disease. They wrote: “Much evidence indicates that women have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) than do men. The reason for this gender difference is unclear. We hypothesize that estrogen deficiency in the brains of women with AD may be a key risk factor….Our results indicate that estrogen depletion in the brain may be a significant risk factor for developing AD neuropathology.”
Yue X, Lu M, Lancaster T, Cao P, Honda SI, Staufenbiel M, Harada N, Zhenyu Z, Shen Y, Rena Li R Brain estrogen deficiency accelerates Aβ plaque formation in an Alzheimer’s disease animal model Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 10.1073/pnas.0505203102
Melatonin and Alzheimer-like neurodegeneration
Writing in the medical journal Acta Pharmacologica Sinica, researchers studied the effect of melatonin and cognitive impairment. They wrote: “Alzheimer disease (AD), an age-related neurodegenerative disorder with progressive loss of memory and deterioration of comprehensive cognition, is characterized by extracellular senile plaques of aggregated beta-amyloid (Abeta), and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles that contain hyperphosphorylated tau protein. Recent studies showed that melatonin, an indoleamine secreted by the pineal gland, may play an important role in aging and AD as an antioxidant and neuroprotector. Melatonin decreases during aging and patients with AD have a more profound reduction in this hormone. Data from clinical trials indicate that melatonin supplementation improves sleep, ameliorates sundowning, and slows down the progression of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer patients.” Wang JZ, Wang ZF. Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2006 Jan;27(1):41-9.
Obesity and Alzheimer’s Disease
Researchers say that obesity can lead to higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
From the press release issued by Thomas Jefferson University Hospital: “A team led by researchers at the Farber Institute for Neurosciences at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and Edith Cowan University in Joondalup, Western Australia has shown that being extremely overweight or obese increases the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s. They found a strong correlation between body mass index and high levels of beta-amyloid, the sticky protein substance that builds up in the Alzheimer’s brain and is thought to play a major role in destroying nerve cells and in cognitive and behavioral problems associated with the disease.”
Exercise Delays Onset of Dementia and Alzheimer’s
Larson EB, Wang L, Bowen JD,McCormick WC, Teri L, Crane P, Kukull W. Exercise Is Associated with Reduced Risk for Incident Dementia among Persons 65 Years of Age and Older. Annals of Internal Medicine January 17, 2006 Volume 144 Issue 2 Pages 73-81.
A new study reports a reduced incidence rate of dementia for people who exercised 3 or more times a week compared with those who exercised fewer than 3 times per week.
Say the study authors: “We believe these findings may be useful if they are confirmed because Alzheimer disease is one of the most feared illnesses of aging and is frequently cited as a reason for not wanting to “get old”: People do not want to lose their independence and quality of life as a consequence of aging.”
They conclude: “These results suggest that regular exercise is associated with a delay in onset of dementia and Alzheimer disease, further supporting its value for elderly persons.”
Read the full article here at the Annals of Internal Medicine
Obesity and Alzheimer’s
Midlife Obesity Raises Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease Later
Researchers reporting at the American Academy of Neurology 58th Annual Meeting in San Diego this week say that midlife obesity raises the risk for Alzheimer’s. Read more
Testosterone, Alzheimer’s, Mood and Quality of Life
A study suggets that that testosterone replacement therapy improved overall quality of life in patients with Alzheimers Disease.
Brain Estrogen Deficiency and Alzheimer’s Disease
Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), researchers studied the effects of estrogen deficiency and Alzheimer’s Disease. They wrote: “Much evidence indicates that women have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) than do men. The reason for this gender difference is unclear. We hypothesize that estrogen deficiency in the brains of women with AD may be a key risk factor….Our results indicate that estrogen depletion in the brain may be a significant risk factor for developing AD neuropathology.”
Yue X, Lu M, Lancaster T, Cao P, Honda SI, Staufenbiel M, Harada N, Zhenyu Z, Shen Y, Rena Li R Brain estrogen deficiency accelerates Aβ plaque formation in an Alzheimer’s disease animal model Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 10.1073/pnas.0505203102
Melatonin and Alzheimer-like neurodegeneration
Writing in the medical journal Acta Pharmacologica Sinica, researchers studied the effect of melatonin and cognitive impairment. They wrote: “Alzheimer disease (AD), an age-related neurodegenerative disorder with progressive loss of memory and deterioration of comprehensive cognition, is characterized by extracellular senile plaques of aggregated beta-amyloid (Abeta), and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles that contain hyperphosphorylated tau protein. Recent studies showed that melatonin, an indoleamine secreted by the pineal gland, may play an important role in aging and AD as an antioxidant and neuroprotector. Melatonin decreases during aging and patients with AD have a more profound reduction in this hormone. Data from clinical trials indicate that melatonin supplementation improves sleep, ameliorates sundowning, and slows down the progression of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer patients.” Wang JZ, Wang ZF. Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2006 Jan;27(1):41-9.
Cortisol Concentrations Predict a Decline in Memory Function
Researchers writing in the medical journal Neurobiology of Aging say their “results partially confirm previous findings that high cortisol is associated with impaired declarative memory function in non-demented older persons. In addition, our data show that high salivary cortisol concentrations predict a decline in memory function over the next 3 years.” Read more
Aging Men and Their Hormones
April 12, 2011 by Dr. Marc Darrow, M.D.
Filed under Aging
Writing in the medical journal Minerva Ginecologica, researchers say that “The ability to maintain active and independent living for as long as possible is a crucial factor for (aging healthfully)” and that “Interventions such as hormone replacement therapy may alleviate the debilitating conditions of secondary partial endocrine deficiencies by preventing the preventable and delaying the inevitable.”
Lunenfeld B. Endocrinology of the aging male. Minerva Ginecol. 2006 Apr;58(2):153-70.
From the study abstract:
“Despite enormous medical progress during the past few decades, the last years of life are still accompanied by increasing ill health and disability.
The ability to maintain active and independent living for as long as possible is a crucial factor for ageing healthily and with dignity. The most important and drastic gender differences in aging are related to the reproductive organs. In distinction to the course of reproductive ageing in women, with the rapid decline in sex hormones expressed by the cessation of menses, men experience a slow and continuous decline. This decline in endocrine function involves: a decrease of testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), oestrogens, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), growth hormone (GH), IGF1, and melatonin.
The decrease of sex hormones is concomitant with a temporary increase of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). In addition sex hormone binding globulins (SHBG) increase with age resulting in further lowering the concentrations of free biologically active androgens.
These hormonal changes are directly or indirectly associated with changes in body constitution, fat distribution (visceral obesity), muscle weakness, osteopenia, osteoporosis, urinary incontinence, loss of cognitive functioning, reduction in well being, depression, as well as sexual dysfunction.
The laboratory and clinical findings of partial endocrine deficiencies in the aging male will be described and discussed in detail. With the prolongation of life expectancy both women and men today live 1/3 of their life with endocrine deficiencies. Interventions such as hormone replacement therapy may alleviate the debilitating conditions of secondary partial endocrine deficiencies by preventing the preventable and delaying the inevitable.”
Article Notes:
Luteinizing hormone is produced in the pituary gland and helps regulate the production of testosterone.
Follicle-stimulating hormone is produced in the pituary gland and helps regulate the production of sperm.
Predicting Mortality: Researchers Have A Formula
April 12, 2011 by Dr. Marc Darrow, M.D.
Filed under Aging
Lee SJ, Lindquist K, Segal MR, Covinsky KE, Development and Validation of a Prognostic Index for 4-Year Mortality in Older Adults. JAMA. 2006;295:801-808.
From the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
ABSTRACT: “Context Both comorbid conditions and functional measures predict mortality in older adults, but few prognostic indexes combine both classes of predictors. Combining easily obtained measures into an accurate predictive model could be useful to clinicians advising patients, as well as policy makers and epidemiologists interested in risk adjustment.
Objective: To develop and validate a prognostic index for 4-year mortality using information that can be obtained from patient report.
Results:…Twelve independent predictors of mortality were identified: 2 demographic variables (age: 60-64 years, 1 point; 65-69 years, 2 points; 70-74 years, 3 points; 75-79 years, 4 points; 80-84 years, 5 points, >85 years, 7 points and (being male), 2 points), 6 comorbid conditions (diabetes, 1 point; cancer, 2 points; lung disease, 2 points; heart failure, 2 points; current tobacco use, 2 points; and body mass index <25, 1 point), and difficulty with 4 functional variables (bathing, 2 points; walking several blocks, 2 points; managing money, 2 points, and pushing large objects, 1 point. Scores on the risk index were strongly associated with 4-year mortality in the validation cohort, with 0 to 5 points predicting a less than 4% risk, 6 to 9 points predicting a 15% risk, 10 to 13 points predicting a 42% risk, and 14 or more points predicting a 64% risk….
Conclusion: This prognostic index, incorporating age, sex, self-reported comorbid conditions, and functional measures, accurately stratifies community-dwelling older adults into groups at varying risk of mortality.
Researchers look at what makes people age successfully
April 12, 2011 by Dr. Marc Darrow, M.D.
Filed under Aging
Factors associated with the successful aging of the socially-active elderly in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre. Rev Bras Psiquiatr. 2005 Dec;27(4):302-308. Moraes JF, Souza VB.
Writing in the medical journal Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria, researchers studied some of the inhabitants of the metropolitan region of the Brazialian city Porto Alegre. What they sought to do was “identify the factors associated with aging of the socially-active elderly in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre.”
What they concluded was: “Independence in performing daily life activities and autonomy, as well as satisfaction with family relations and friendships, were independent predictive factors of successful aging for both men and women.
For women in particular, there were various predictive factors: material comfort; feeling physically well; body image and appearance; self-esteem; positive feelings; interpersonal relationships; social support; participation in recreational activities;… spirituality; and beliefs.
The elderly maintain a relationship with themselves, with others and with their beliefs. Family is the main social support system.”
Aging
April 12, 2011 by Dr. Marc Darrow, M.D.
Filed under Aging
Researchers look at what makes people age successfully
Factors associated with the successful aging of the socially-active elderly in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre. Rev Bras Psiquiatr. 2005 Dec;27(4):302-308. Moraes JF, Souza VB.
Writing in the medical journal Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria, researchers studied some of the inhabitants of the metropolitan region of the Brazialian city Porto Alegre. What they sought to do was “identify the factors associated with aging of the socially-active elderly in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre.” Read more
Predicting Mortality: Researchers Have A Formula
From the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
ABSTRACT: “Context Both comorbid conditions and functional measures predict mortality in older adults, but few prognostic indexes combine both classes of predictors. Combining easily obtained measures into an accurate predictive model could be useful to clinicians advising patients, as well as policy makers and epidemiologists interested in risk adjustment. Read more
Researchers Say Marital Strain Can Affect Aging
You make me sick: marital quality and health over the life course. Umberson D, Williams K, Powers DA, Liu H, Needham B.J Health Soc Behav. 2006 Mar;47(1):1-16.
From the press release of the American Sociological Association:
“Researchers have found that marital strain accelerates the typical decline in self-rated physical health that occurs over time and that this adverse effect is greater at older ages. As men and women age, they become increasingly vulnerable to marital stress, according to a team of sociologists from the University of Texas-Austin and Ohio State University. Their findings appear in an article on marital quality and health over the life course in this month’s Journal of Health and Social Behavior, a publication of the American Sociological Association.”
Click here to go to our links page for the press release from American Sociological Association
Aging Men and Their Hormones
Writing in the medical journal Minerva Ginecologica, researchers say that “The ability to maintain active and independent living for as long as possible is a crucial factor for (aging healthfully)” and that “Interventions such as hormone replacement therapy may alleviate the debilitating conditions of secondary partial endocrine deficiencies by preventing the preventable and delaying the inevitable.”
Why Do Some People Age Healthily and Happily, While others do not?
Coping with Stress and Adversity May Be A Key
Arizona State University researchers will begin a five year study to examine how “factors of risk and resilience contribute to health and well-being.” Read more
Healthwatch with Dr. Darrow on Intimacy and Libido
April 12, 2011 by Dr. Marc Darrow, M.D.
Filed under Videos
Healthwath with Dr. Darrow on KCAL-TV CBS NEWS : Women and Hormones
April 12, 2011 by Dr. Marc Darrow, M.D.
Filed under Videos
Metabolic Syndrome and Stroke
April 12, 2011 by Dr. Marc Darrow, M.D.
Filed under Insulin
Najarian RM, Sullivan LM, Kannel WB, Wilson PW, D’Agostino RB, Wolf PA.Metabolic Syndrome Compared With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus as a Risk Factor for Stroke: The Framingham Offspring Study. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Jan 9;166(1):106-111.
Researchers writing in the Archives of Internal Medicine say that preventing and controlling Metabolic Syndrome is likely to reduce risk of stroke.
From the abstract: “Metabolic syndrome has been recognized as a prediabetic constellation of symptoms and an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease.”
They concluded: “Metabolic syndrome is more prevalent than diabetes and a significant independent risk factor for stroke in people without diabetes. Prevention and control of (Metabolic Syndrome) and its components are likely to reduce stroke incidence.”
What is the Effect of Insulin Resistance and Loss of Lean Muscle (Sarcopenia) As We Age?
April 12, 2011 by Dr. Marc Darrow, M.D.
Filed under Insulin
Sarcopenia – Loss of Lean Muscle
Leucine – An amino acid found in protein rich foods
Researchers writing in the Journal of The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology say: “A reduced response of older skeletal muscle to anabolic stimuli (exercise & diet) may contribute to the development of sarcopenia.
Skeletal muscle protein synthesis is resistant to the anabolic action of insulin in older subjects, which may be an important contributor to the development of sarcopenia.”
Writing in Diabetes and Metabolism, French Researchers say:
“Structural and functional modifications occur in skeletal muscle during aging. These defects lead to impairment in muscle strength, contractile capacity and performance.
Among factors implicated in this age-related loss of muscle mass, a dysregulation of protein synthesis and breakdown has frequently been reported.
Insulin plays a major role in regulating muscle protein metabolism, since its action contributes to increase net gain of muscle protein in animal and humans.
Insulin resistance develops with aging, classically involving changes in glucose tolerance. However, the effect of insulin on protein metabolism is less well documented, and insulin resistance could be involved in age-related muscle protein loss, progressively leading to sarcopenia. Therefore in a more general concept, insulin resistance found in many clinical settings, could be considered as a contributor to muscle wasting.”
