The study found that ‘…men who were diagnosed with AD, on average, had about 1/2 the levels of circulating free testosterone as men who didn’t develop the disease. In some cases, the drop-offs in free testosterone levels associated with AD were detected up to 10 years before diagnosis.”

According to Professor Scott Moffat, head investigator on the study, “This is a big step forward in helping to understand how sex hormones affect the aging body and brain.”

So the logical question is “Would testosterone supplements given to such men help prevent Alzheimer’s disease?”

Unfotunately, this remains far from clear.

A 2005 study ‘Effects of Testosterone on Cognition and Mood in Male Patients with Mild Alzheimer’s Disease and Healthy Elderly Men” attempted to determine the “…effects of testosterone therapy on cognition, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and quality of life in male patients with mild AD and healthy elderly men.”

It’s conclusion indicated that while testosterone replacement therapy seemed to improve overall quality of life for Alzheimer’s sufferers, the therapy had minimal effects on improving cognition.”

A more recent ongoing Australian study is looking at the connection between testosterone levels and the protein beta amyloid, a key player in causing Alzheimer’s disease, and how testosterone replacement therapy might help.

You can listen to an interview about the study here. Or read the transcript here.

Post from: Blisstree

Do reduced levels of sex hormones affect men’s risk for Alzheimer’s Disease?

The study involved 165 Alzheimer’s patients in nursing homes who had been given sedative drugs such as Haloperidol (Serenace), Chlorpromazine (Largactil), Thioridazine (Melleril), Trifluoperazine (Stelazine), and Risperidone (Risperdal) for at least three months.

In the Alzheimer’s Research Trust Press Release (April 2, 2007) Professor Clive Ballard, Professor of Age Related Disorders at King’s College London, said ‘It is very clear that even over a six month period of treatment, there is no benefit of neuroleptics in treating the behavior of people with Alzheimer’s disease when the symptoms are mild – specifically when a measure of behavioral disturbance known as the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Score is equal to or less than 14. For people with more sever behavioral symptoms, balancing the potential benefits against increased mortality and other adverse effects is more difficult, but this study provides an important evidence base to inform this decision-making process.’

News Reports:

Alzheimer’s Patients Are Dying Early Because of Controversial Drugs

Why sedatives ‘are making Alzheimer’s patients die early’.

Alzheimer’s sufferers dying in drug ’scandal’

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Study says Alzheimer’s Patients dying prematurely due to sedatives.

 For more details visit the Howard Hughes Medical Institute web site:  http://www.hhmi.org//news/stgeorgehyslop20060612.html .

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Research News About Alzheimer’s