Does Thinness Raise Alzheimer's Risk?
< Nov. 23, 2011 > -- In the search for early markers of Alzheimer's disease - in hopes of eventually preventing it - researchers have found that low body weight may somehow play a role.
In a study published this week in the journal Neurology, people with early signs of Alzheimer's disease were more likely to be underweight or have a low body mass index (BMI).
Earlier studies found that people who are overweight in middle age or earlier are at higher risk for Alzheimer's later in life. Other studies have shown that being overweight later in life seems to protect against the disease.
More research needed
What the latest study findings mean for diagnosing or preventing Alzheimer's disease is unclear.
"A long history of declining weight or BMI could aid the diagnostic process," says study author Eric Vidoni, Ph.D., at the University of Kansas. But, he adds, it's too early "to make body composition part of the diagnostic toolbox."
Dr. Vidoni and colleagues studied brain imaging and analyzed cerebrospinal fluid in 506 people. Study participants ranged from those with no memory problems to others with Alzheimer's.
Impact of body weight
People who had evidence of Alzheimer's - either in brain scans or protein levels in the cerebrospinal fluid - were more likely to have a lower BMI than those who did not show early evidence of the disease.
The researchers aren't sure why body weight might have a bearing on Alzheimer's risk. They speculate that the disease may affect the hippocampus, the area of the brain that controls metabolism and appetite. Or, they say, perhaps inflammation is driving both the drop in BMI and the cognitive changes that are the hallmark of Alzheimer's.
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