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MuSuLPhReAk
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I just read an article in the Montreal Gazette today that states Testosterone may be a new therapy against Alzheimer's. The atricle is as follows:
A study which found that testosterone has a protective effect on human neurons could be the first step toward preventing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's through testosterone replacement therapy, the study's lead clinical investigator said yesterday.
"This is the beginning," said Dr. Morrie Gelfand, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Jewish General Hospital and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at McGill University.
"Alzheimer's is a big jigsaw puzzle - these are some of the basic pieces. If cells are being protected by these hormones, that's a very important issue."
Scientists have been investigating for some years the effectiveness of estrogen, the female sex hormone, as prevention against Alzheimer's disease in women.
But a McGill-based team of researchers led by Gelfand and molecular biologist Andrea LeBlanc has become the first to show that testosterone protects neurons against cell death, suggesting the male sex hormone may also have potential as a preventative therapy in both men and women.
The results of the study were recently published in the Journal of Neurochemistry.
Gelfand has long been interested in testosterone replacement therapy.
The therapy has been used for over 30 years in Canada to treat memory loss, depression and anxiety in men - symptoms linked to decline with age of testosterone - and to improve energy, well-being and libido in women.
In the mid-1980s, he conducted research which tracked the impact of combination estrogen and testosterone hormone replacement therapy on women's quality of life.
On-going research on estrogen as a potential therapy against Alzheimer's in women led Gelfand to wonder whether the testosterone he was prescribing in combination with estrogen might have similar potential.
The researchers found that bathing human fetal neuron cells in physiological amounts of testosterone - meaning the amounts were similar to those which occur naturally in the body - completely eliminated apoptosis, or cell death, for up to 48 hours and significantly inhibited death for up to 96 hours.
"It became apparent that testosterone protects the neurons from dying - how about that one?" Gelfand said.
The next step for Gelfand is clinical research into how many of the patients he has treated with combination hormone replacement therapy have developed neurodegenerative diseases.
For LeBlanc, it will be further research into the mechanism through which testosterone protects neurons against death.
Alzheimer's and similar neurodegenerative disorders affect more than 360,000 - a number which is expected to increase as the population ages.
A study which found that testosterone has a protective effect on human neurons could be the first step toward preventing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's through testosterone replacement therapy, the study's lead clinical investigator said yesterday.
"This is the beginning," said Dr. Morrie Gelfand, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Jewish General Hospital and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at McGill University.
"Alzheimer's is a big jigsaw puzzle - these are some of the basic pieces. If cells are being protected by these hormones, that's a very important issue."
Scientists have been investigating for some years the effectiveness of estrogen, the female sex hormone, as prevention against Alzheimer's disease in women.
But a McGill-based team of researchers led by Gelfand and molecular biologist Andrea LeBlanc has become the first to show that testosterone protects neurons against cell death, suggesting the male sex hormone may also have potential as a preventative therapy in both men and women.
The results of the study were recently published in the Journal of Neurochemistry.
Gelfand has long been interested in testosterone replacement therapy.
The therapy has been used for over 30 years in Canada to treat memory loss, depression and anxiety in men - symptoms linked to decline with age of testosterone - and to improve energy, well-being and libido in women.
In the mid-1980s, he conducted research which tracked the impact of combination estrogen and testosterone hormone replacement therapy on women's quality of life.
On-going research on estrogen as a potential therapy against Alzheimer's in women led Gelfand to wonder whether the testosterone he was prescribing in combination with estrogen might have similar potential.
The researchers found that bathing human fetal neuron cells in physiological amounts of testosterone - meaning the amounts were similar to those which occur naturally in the body - completely eliminated apoptosis, or cell death, for up to 48 hours and significantly inhibited death for up to 96 hours.
"It became apparent that testosterone protects the neurons from dying - how about that one?" Gelfand said.
The next step for Gelfand is clinical research into how many of the patients he has treated with combination hormone replacement therapy have developed neurodegenerative diseases.
For LeBlanc, it will be further research into the mechanism through which testosterone protects neurons against death.
Alzheimer's and similar neurodegenerative disorders affect more than 360,000 - a number which is expected to increase as the population ages.
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