Could hormone replacement therapy – or HRT – work against Alzheimer’s disease? A striking new mouse study has me thinking that we will hear this question asked more frequently.
In the study, which appears this week in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers link low levels of the hormone testosterone with Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically they find that mice with a reduced capacity to produce the testosterone show a greater accumulation of the beta-amyloid protein clumps implicated as causing the illness.
Mice that received testosterone to make up for their inability to produce it have less accumulation of these clumps and better cognitive performance.
Scientists commenting on the work say that a similar approach could perhaps work for humans.
Read more after the link.
Like the recent progress in diabetes research, the impact this could potentially make in quality of life is staggering. Economically speaking, the gains would also be tremendous:
Nationally, direct and indirect costs of caring for patients with Alzheimer's have been estimated at $100 billion. The average lifetime cost for an individual with AD is estimated at $174,000, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
This figure may actually underestimate the economic cost by not factoring in the lost productivity from people who suffer from the disease and family members who take care of them. This also says nothing of the slow decay of identity and dignity that victims of this disease suffer through or the suffering their loved ones endure.
Let's hope and pray this research is a significant step towards curing this awful disease.
1 comment:
You know, I've heard that weed might stave off Alzheimers...
The stoners get the last laugh?
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