Jefferson scientists discover mechanism tying obesity to Alzheimer...( tes such as the inflammatory marker C-...),Health

"Ours is one of the first attempts to try to find out on both the pathological and the molecular levels how obesity was increasing the risk of Alzheimer's," says Dr. Gandy, who serves as chairman of the Alzheimer's Association's Medical and Scientific Advisory Council.

One implication of these findings could be that by losing excess weight and maintaining normal body weight, an individual might reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's. However, this has not been proven, notes Dr. Gandy.

"What's especially interesting about this is that several studies are showing that even medical conditions in midlife may predispose to Alzheimer's later on," he says. "The baby boomers today should pay attention to this. Their medical risk factors today will play a role 30 years later. Think about weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, which could affect you long-term. In terms of Alzheimer's, another risk factor is maintaining an active mental lifestyle."

The next step is to follow such patients over the long term to see how many do indeed develop Alzheimer's. "We need to first develop a medicine that is effective in humans in lowering amyloid accumulation or generation," says Dr. Gandy. "We have those now in mice and we are testing them in humans. If we can develop such a medicine, then the question will be, if we can lower amyloid, will that in fact prevent Alzheimer's?"

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Contact: Steve Benowitz
steven.benowitz@jefferson.edu
215-955-5291
Thomas Jefferson University
29-Dec-2005