Women's Menopause Health Center February 1, 2004 Newsletter.

 

Low Levels of Free Testosterone and Alzheimer's Disease.

 

This week the reputable medical journal "Neurology" released the findings of a study that links low levels of free testosterone in the blood increase risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.

This study tracked 574 men between the ages of 32 and 87 for 19 years, measured the levels of free testosterone and evaluated the men for signs of Alzheimer’s.

Free testosterone is testosterone not attached to a protein. This free testosterone is free and able to interact with brain cells.


Researchers in the extensive study found that;

_ Men with higher levels of free testosterone were less likely to develop Alzheimer's.

_ For every 50% increase in free testosterone in the blood, there was a 26% reduction in the risk of developing the
disease.

_ Most men who later developed Alzheimer's had below normal levels of free testosterone.

_ The men with Alzheimer's had free testosterone levels that were half the levels of the men who remained healthy.
_ In some cases, the drop in free testosterone was detected up to a decade before the men were diagnosed with
Alzheimer's.


Estrogen also appears to have the same intimate connection with brain health in women. The lack of this crucial hormone in women poses serious risks to the functioning of the brain, which is why women in menopause often complain that their memory and concentration are not as sharp as they used to be.

Estrogen has long held a reputation as a brain protector. In 2003 researchers with the dementia portion of the Women’s Health Initiative study found that hormone replacement therapy medication drugs double the risk of dementia and Alzheimers Disease in post-menopausal women.

Note that last year’s study marked hormone replacement therapy as the risk - not estrogen. A clear line of distinction needs to be drawn between the hormones and the synthetic pharmaceutical mismatches of hormone replacement therapy.

Estrogen remains the protector of the brain in women, as testosterone protects mental functioning for the men. The harm is in using synthetic hormones.

A USA Today article reporting on the study states that, despite its benefits to mental functioning, taking testosterone is risky because of its link to stroke and possibly prostate cancer.

We would like to emphasis that taking synthetic testosterone is risky and can increase your risk of disease. Taking synthetic estrogen (Premarin, Prempro...) is also risky for these very same reasons.

Furthermore, it is highly unlikely that testosterone is the cause of prostate cancer. After all, if testosterone were to blame, then this cancer would be prevalent in the late teens when testosterone levels are at a lifetime high. Instead, prostate cancer risks increase in men when their testosterone levels fall.

A number of studies back this logic;

_ A study published in the Journal of American Medical Association in 1995 suggests that low testosterone - not testosterone replacement - is associated with increased prostatic cancer rates.

_Also in 1995, the wrap-up of a 15-year John Hopkins study that followed more than 50 men showed no connection between testosterone levels and the development of prostate cancer.

_ Other studies show that high estrogen levels put men at greater risk to prostate enlargement and prostate cancer than do elevated testosterone level.

Estrogen and testosterone are not just sex hormones. These vital hormones protect virtually every system in the body, which is why a drop in estrogen for women and a drop in testosterone for men cause so many symptoms beyond sexual function.

When using hormones to replace fallen hormone levels, be sure to use bioidentical hormones that your body will accept to protect itself against aging and disease.

 

February Menopause Recipe: Coffee Smoothie.

 

February Bath and Body Recipe: Detoxification Bath.
 

February Exercise Tip: Find Exercise Time.

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