Testosterone Tied To Alzheimer’s Defence
Fran Spencer
Publication: The West Australian;
Date: Aug 22, 2007;
Section: H+M;
Page Number: HEA3
It puts hairs on your chest — and elsewhere — increases muscle mass and bone density, and lifts libido and energy. It’s also been blamed for everything from prostate cancer to bar-room brawls.
But a growing body of evidence suggests testosterone could also play a vital role in fending off an insidious disease affecting thousands.
More than 1000 cases of Alzheimer’s disease are diagnosed in Australia each week, costing billions of dollars each year. In Western Australia, almost 20,000 people have been diagnosed with the disease.
The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s is a physical disease which affects the brain, resulting in impaired memory, thinking and behaviour. As the disease progresses, abnormal material builds up as tangles and plaque in and around brain cells, disrupting messages and damaging connections n the brain. Chemical changes also occur leading to the eventual death of brain cells and an overall shrinking of the brain itself.
While a cure or effective treatment for Alzheimer’s is yet to be found, an increasing number of studies around the world have suggested a link may exist between testosterone levels and the presence of a protein called beta amyloid — an abnormal sticky substance which clumps to form the plaque at the heart of Alzheimer’s.
Researcher Ralph Martins, of The McCusker Foundation for Alzheimer’s Disease Research, is conducting trials in WA and Indonesia that have produced promising results, with beta amyloid levels dropping in response to boosted testosterone levels in men.
“The evidence is starting to be very strong for the role of testosterone with this disease, particularly for the protein build-up in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients,” Professor Martins said.
Despite the link to testosterone, men do not appear to be at any higher risk for Alzheimer’s, which affects more women. However, Professor Martins said it appeared this was due to the fact that women lived longer than men, making them more susceptible to the disease.
“There is a very strong argument for saying that men should try to maintain their testosterone levels as they get older because it also links in with a lot of other risk factors for Alzheimer’s,” he said. “When testosterone levels are down insulin levels start to come up in the blood and that risks type 2 diabetes, which is also a risk factor for Alzheimer’s.”
Physical activity and a sensible diet could help maintain healthy testosterone levels, with obesity in men associated with a decrease in the hormone. Studies have also suggested stress can have a negative impact on testosterone levels. Testosterone-based treatment was likely to be of greatest benefit in preventing or treating the very early stages of the disease, providing some hope for those diagnosed early.
“The exciting thing about testosterone is it’s a drug that’s relatively safe to take, it’s a normal hormone and could be implemented almost immediately if proven effective,” Professor Martins said. “With other drugs that may be in development you’d probably be looking at 10 years before they come into the clinic.”