Study: Unexplained Weight Loss Might Precede Alzheimer's
POSTED: Monday, September 26, 2005
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CHICAGO -- Unexplained weight loss in older people might be an early signal of Alzheimer's disease. A new theory suggests that this loss of weight happens several years before the memory lapses that define the illness."People with Alzheimer's disease are known to lose weight and body mass after they have the disease," said Dr. Dallas Anderson, of the National Institute on Aging, which funded the research. "This study is significant in that it looks at body mass changes in the years preceding dementia and cognitive decline." Researchers at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center studied 820 elderly Roman Catholic priests, nuns and brothers, following them for up to 10 years. They found that otherwise healthy participants whose body-mass index fell the most were the most likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. A loss of 1 pound per year was associated with a 5 percent increase in the risk of developing the disease.And people who retained the same weight had a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease than those who gained some weight.The results appear in Tuesday's issue of the journal Neurology."The most likely explanation is that there is something about these individuals or about this disease that affects BMI before the clinical syndrome becomes apparent -- that loss of BMI reflects the disease process itself," said Dr. David Bennett, one of the study's researchers.Anderson called the results intriguing, but he said the theory needs further testing in a more diverse group.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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