sodium-ethylxanthate and Alzheimer-Disease

There is good evidence for sex differences in brain disease, and that oestrogen modulates brain development and ageing. For example, females are significantly more likely to suffer from Alzheimer's disease, depression and late-onset psychosis than are men. Moreover, hormone replacement therapy may reduce the rate of cognitive decline in post-menopausal women and reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (as compared to post-menopausal women who do not take hormone replacement therapy). The neurobiological basis of these differences in brain disease and ageing was unknown until relatively recently. In this chapter we discuss results of studies demonstrating that sex steroids (i) are crucial for development and ageing of brain regions affected in Alzheimer's disease; (ii) interact with neuronal networks and chemical systems at many different levels in brain, and (iii) affect mood and cognitive function in elderly women without Alzheimer's disease. The current literature supports the hypothesis that sex steroids can modulate brain ageing and provides a number of potential neurobiological explanations for the cognitive effects of hormone replacement therapy. There is only limited evidence that hormone replacement therapy is effective in women already suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Nonetheless, recent work may lead to new prevention strategies for age-related cognitive decline and brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Alzheimer Disease; Brain; Cognition Disorders; Estrogen Replacement Therapy; Female; Gonadal Steroid Hormones; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Middle Aged; Mood Disorders; Nerve Growth Factors; Postmenopause; Sex

A functional polymorphism in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene, namely C677T (rs1801133), results in increased Hcy levels and has been associated with risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). Many investigators reported association between rs1801133 and LOAD risk in Asian populations and in carriers of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ɛ4 allele, but recent meta-analyses suggest a contribution also in other populations, including Caucasians and/or northern Africans.. To further address this issue, we performed a relatively large case-control study, including 581 LOAD patients and 468 matched controls of Italian origin. APOE data were available for a subgroup of almost 600 subjects.. Genotyping for rs1801133 was performed with PCR-RFLP techniques.. In the total population, the MTHFR 677T allele (OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.01-1.43) and carriers of the MTHFR 677T allele (CT+TT versus CC: OR = 1.34; 95% CI = 1.03-1.73) resulted in increased LOAD risk. Similarly, in APOEɛ4 carriers, we observed an increased frequency of MTHFR 677CT carriers (CT versus CC: OR = 2.82; 95% CI = 1.25-6.32). Very interestingly, also in non-APOEɛ4 carriers, both MTHFR 677T allele (OR = 1.38; 95% CI = 1.03-1.85) and MTHFR 677TT genotype (OR = 2.08; 95% CI = 1.11-3.90) were associated with LOAD. All these associations survived after corrections for age, gender, and multiple testing.. The present results suggest that the MTHFR C677T polymorphism is likely a LOAD risk factor in our cohort, either in APOEɛ4 or in non-APOEɛ4 carriers.

Topics: Age of Onset; Aged; Alzheimer Disease; Apolipoproteins E; Case-Control Studies; Female; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Heterozygote; Humans; Italy; Male; Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2); Polymorphism, Genetic; Sex; White People

We evaluated scores on a brief psychometric screening instrument--the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)--for possible effects of gender, hypothesizing that women with Alzheimer's disease (AD) would perform more poorly than men. A significant gender difference was to be explored with post hoc item analyses.. Case-study design. A hierarchical regression procedure controlled for the possible influence on MMSE performance of demographic variables (eg, age, duration of dementia symptoms, education, and family history of dementia) before the effect of gender was analyzed.. Data were gathered by trained neuropsychological examiners from subjects enrolled in the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.. One hundred forty-two subjects who met strict criteria for probable AD and 121 nondemented elderly subjects were included in the study. All subjects underwent periodic neuropsychological testing. We extracted MMSE scores and demographic data to test the hypothesis that women would perform more poorly than men on the MMSE. CRITERION MEASURE: The MMSE was chosen because of its wide use in clinical and research settings to screen for the presence or severity of dementia.. After controlling for the demographic variables for subjects with AD, we observed a significant difference in the predicted direction for total MMSE score, but there was no significant gender effect on the MMSE for the nondemented elderly sample. Among subjects with AD, gender-associated differences were limited to only a subset of MMSE items.. Results imply that MMSE performance may differ between men and women with AD and that differences might pertain only to discrete areas of cognitive functioning. Although gender effects were relatively small, findings indicate the relevance of gender to studies of AD.

Topics: Aged; Alzheimer Disease; Cognition; Female; Humans; Male; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Sex