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Female weight loss could be linked to dementia18 July 2006 Weight loss could be a precursor to dementia in later life, according to a new study by US researchers. The study of over 1,000 women found that those who later developed dementia also experienced a decline in weight over the previous 10 years. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in the US believe their findings could shed light on the brain mechanisms which are triggered by dementia, but admit the results will probably not help doctors to spot the condition any earlier. Dr David Knopman, Mayo Clinic neurologist and lead study researcher, said: "We discovered that the weight of those women who developed dementia was drifting downward many years before the onset of symptoms. "This illustrates changes that occur before the memory loss and mental decline in dementia. We believe that the brain disease began to interfere somehow with maintenance of body weight, long before it affected memory and thinking." The team compared a group of 560 people who suffered from dementia between 1990 and 1994 with a group of similarly aged people who did not. They then analysed their weight over the previous 30 years. Dr Knopman noted that the reasons behind the weight loss were not clear, but suggested that women with dementia may have less initiative and lose interest in eating in the years before memory loss develops. Other possible reasons could be a duller sense of taste of smell, or having an earlier a sense of satiety - feeling full - brought on by the disease. Noting that the same phenomenon did not occur in men, he adds that the weight loss could be related to postmenopausal hormonal changes. More information
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