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By Vivian Richardson, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent
Orlando, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The hormone that gives men their bigger muscles and hairy backs could also prevent Alzheimer's disease.
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New research from scientists at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles reveals a strong link between low levels of testosterone and increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
Senior author Christian Pike, Ph.D., told Ivanhoe the data could help not only help identify men with higher risks of developing the memory-stealing disease, it could also lead to new ways to prevent or treat Alzheimer's.
Researchers tested the theory of a testosterone link to Alzheimer's on mice. One group of mice could not produce testosterone. "Mice with low testosterone showed rapid progression in the development of Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Pike. "That suggests -- if you dare to extrapolate what's going on in mice might be going on in aged men -- is that in the absence of testosterone, the brain becomes a much more willing environment for the progression of the disease."
Scientists gave another group of mice extra testosterone. These mice didn't have as much beta amyloid brain plaques -- characteristic of Alzheimer's disease -- as other mice. The testosterone mice also had less memory impairment.
Before anyone starts taking testosterone boosters, Dr. Pike says it's too soon to assume the hormone would be a good way for humans to ward off Alzheimer's disease.
"There's all this great promise of what testosterone might be able to do in men. The problem is, we don't know what the long-term efficacy is. We don't know what the safety is," said Dr. Pike. "We jumped ahead with this with women and estrogen-based hormone therapy and it's gotten us into a bit of a mess. There was increased risk for breast cancer and increased risk for stroke." Studies have linked testosterone to prostate cancer.
However, the new data does extend the body of knowledge scientists have on Alzheimer's. Dr. Pike said previous population data has suggested the link between testosterone and Alzheimer's that this study confirms. "This at least gives you the ability to have a screening tool to identify aging men who are going to benefit from any type of potential preventive therapies," he said. The information could also help scientists create testosterone-like drugs that would target the cause of Alzheimer's and not affect other conditions, like prostate cancer.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with Christian Pike, Ph.D., from the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles; The Journal of Neuroscience, 2006;26:13384-13389
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