VOLUME 2008 issue 19

Wine May Protect Women Against Dementia

Wine may contain compounds that protect women against dementia. Lauren Lissner, from the Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University (Sweden), and colleagues conducted a study involving 1,458 Swedish women (ages of 38-60 years at the start of the study) for a 34-year period. At the end of the study’s duration, the women with the lowest rate of dementia were those who reported that the only alcohol they drank was wine. No correlation between dementia and the regular consumption of beer or other liquor was found.
[Mehlig K, Skoog I, Guo X, Schütze M, Gustafson D, Waern M, Ostling S, Björkelund C, Lissner L. “Alcoholic beverages and incidence of dementia: 34-year follow-up of the prospective population study of women in Goteborg.” Am J Epidemiol. 2008 Mar 15;167(6):684-91. Epub 2008 Jan 24.]

Dr. Klatz remarks: “While this study does not provide a clear reason to recommend that women drink wine, or increase their consumption of it, it does suggest a future identification of a biochemical basis for the beneficial effect of wine on dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), the most common form of dementia today. More than 26 million people worldwide were estimated to be living with Alzheimer's disease in 2006; by 2050, AD will afflict more than 106 million people. As disease of epidemic proportion, it is now critical to elucidate mechanisms that affect the rate of onset and progression of dementia and AD.”

Testosterone Replacement Therapy Beneficial to Aging Men’s Bone Health

A study by E. Lichar Dillon, from the University of Texas Medical Branch (USA), and colleagues, is the first clinical trial involving men ages 60 to 85 that demonstrates the positive effect of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) on markers of bone health in men. TRT reduced bone turnover and exerted a protective effect on existing bone mass. [E. Lichar Dillon, et al. Presented at the 121st Annual Meeting of the American Physiological Society, April 7, 2008.]

Dr. Goldman observes: “Osteoporosis, a disease that thins and weakens the bones to the point that they become fragile and break easily, affects 2 million men and 3 million more are at-risk. Previously, Christian Meier, from the University of Sydney (Australia), and colleagues found that men ages 60+ with low levels of testosterone are at increased risk for fractures resulting from osteoporosis. The above study is the first clinical trial that definitively shows the benefits of TRT on the bone health in aging men.”

Mid-Life Diabetes Increases Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

Men who develop diabetes in mid-life appear to significantly increase their risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Elina Rönnemaa, from the Uppsala University Hospital (Sweden), and colleagues studied 2,269 Swedish men for a period of 32 years. Each underwent glucose testing at age 50 to assess diabetes. At the conclusion of the study period, those men with low insulin secretion capacity at age 50 were nearly 1.5-times more likely to develop AD. The team states that: “Our research suggests a link between insulin problems and the origins of Alzheimer’s Disease and emphasize the importance of insulin in normal brain function. It’s possible that insulin problems damage blood vessels in the brain, which leads to memory problems.”
[Rönnemaa E, Zethelius B, Sundelöf J, Sundström J, Degerman-Gunnarsson M, Berne C, Lannfelt L, Kilander L. “Impaired insulin secretion increases the risk of Alzheimer disease.”
Neurology. 2008 Apr 9; [Epub ahead of print]

Dr. Klatz comments: “The number of Alzheimer’s cases worldwide is projected to triple by the year 2050, stressing many nations’ healthcare resources. This study identifies a potentially significant causal link between diabetes and AD, and may represent a future primary interventive route to reduce or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s.”

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