Alzheimer’s Disease, Memory, and Hormones

It is predicted that by the year 2050, 14 million people in the United States will have Alzheimer’s disease. It is a type of dementia with cognitive decline.

        

The exact cause of Alzheimer’s is unknown. It may be a combination of factors, different for every individual, that contribute to the disease. During your lifetime, you lose approximately 20% of your brain cells, but in Alzheimer’s Disease brain cell death is so extensive that the brain can no longer direct the your bodily activities.

           

The chances of acquiring Alzheimer’s disease increases with age. Two to six percent of the population over age 65 is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Half of the population over age 85 has Alzheimer’s, and it is responsible for half the nursing home admissions in the United States.

           

Alzheimer’s is more common in women, and is four times greater if someone in your family has the disease.  In the early stages, a person becomes increasingly forgetful and has difficulty carrying out complex thought processes. The onset can take one to ten years with severe and continual decline for which no other cause can be identified.

           

Contributing factors to the disease may be genetic predisposition, abnormal calcium regulation in the brain cells, or toxic levels of aluminum, lead, iron, or some other heavy metal in the body. Malnutrition, decreased blood flow to the brain, extensive free radical damage, and environmental toxins also can have an effect.

           

Alzheimer’s patients have abnormal fibrils surrounding the brain cells eventually ensnarling the brain cells until they die. There are also dead cellular waste products called senile plaques composed of beta-amyloid.

           

Cognitive decline is not hopeless or inevitable. You can improve the circuitry in your brain by eating wisely, taking appropriate vitamins, minerals, and smart medications, exercising your body and mind, balancing your hormones, and controlling your response to stress in your life.  Certain pharmaceuticals (sedatives, painkillers, and anti-depressants like Valium, Darvon, Percodan, and Elavil), alcohol, cigarette smoking, environmental toxins, and allergic substances can harm the brain and should be avoided. Keep your brain busy and active to improve memory, awareness, alertness, and concentration.

 

Hormone replacement is important in preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

 

Hormones That Prevent and Improve Alzheimer’s Disease

 

Growth Hormone improves memory, mood, anxiety, tension, vigor, and cognitive performance. Growth hormone improves memory in Alzheimer’s disease.

 

It increases glucose utilization, neurogenesis, and blood vessels in brain. It decreases beta-amyloid neurotoxicity, especially in hippocampus.

 

The first improvement is in 2-4 months. The last improvement is in the next 3 years.

 

 

Melatonin deficiency can cause memory loss. Deficiency in melatonin produces reduced anti-oxidant activity in the brain. It protects the brain against toxic free radical damage.

 

 

Pregnenolone is a neurosteroid synthesized in the brain, neurons, and peripheral nerves by the neurons. Deficiency causes decreased memory and attention. Alzheimer’s patients have low pregnenolone.

 

Pregnenolone increases memory, increases spatial memory, decreases alcohol amnesia, and benzodiazepam (Valium, Versed, triazolam) amnesia.

 

It increases acetylcholine in the hippocampus, and decreases beta amyloid and glutamate neurotoxicity.

 

 

Thyroid Hormone – decreased thyroid hormone causes increased memory loss. Deficiency can also slow down mood reaction, fatigue, depression, excessive nervousness, decreased IQ, decreased attention, decreased space orientation, slow thinking, short and long memory loss, and decreased cognitive function. Alzheimer’s patients have low thyroid hormone.

 

Characteristics of thyroid memory loss are worse in the morning or inactivity, better in the evening, and slow to find word.

 

Mechanisms of memory enhancement with thyroid hormone are increased brain blood flow, increased brain excitability, increased dendrites and synapses.

 

With treatment, first improvement is in 2-4 months, and last improvement is in the next 8-12 months.

 

 

DHEA  - decreased serum DHEA causes increased memory loss. Alzheimer’s disease patients have decreased DHEA. DHEA therapy increases memory. It improves mood in depression and may protect against Alzheimer’s disease.

 

Mechanism of protection is that it enhances the survival and differentiation of neurons and glial cells by increasing the expression of protein.

 

It takes 4-6 months to get the first memory improvement. The last improvement is in the next 8 months.

 

 

Cortisol – decreased or increased cortisol can cause memory loss.

 

There is more memory loss during stress, especially at the end of the day. Memory is paralyzed or confused in stress situations, especially short term memory when you feel overwhelmed by what is happening and may have dramatized reactions. Improvement may occur in 24 hours with cortisone supplementation. The last improvement is in 2-3 months.

 

Chronic stress and increased cortisol can rob the brain cells and neurotransmitters of glucose causing brain cell death. Too much cortisol can damage your neuro-endocrine system which is the connection between your mind and body.

 

 

Estrogen – Decreased estrogen causes increased memory loss, disturbances of mood (depression, fatigue, poor libido), poor concentration.

Estrogen deficiency decreases the blood supply to the brain and reduces EEG electrical activity. Estrogen replacement reduces the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. Estrogen increases memory in women, increases visual memory in men.

 

Characteristics of memory loss is short and long term memory poor throughout the day, permanent memory loss,  and talks less.

 

Estrogen increases brain blood flow, increases neuron connections, decreases  beta-amyloid production and neurotoxicity, decreases brain ischemia.

 

After treatment first improvement is in 2-4 months, last improvement occurs in the next 8-12 months.

 

Testosterone – memory loss is a frequent complaint of decreased testosterone. Alzheimer patients have decreased testosterone.  People with higher free testosterone have a lower incidence of Alzheimer’s. Testosterone improves memory in normal and Alzheimer patients. Testosterone improves learning, memory, spatial memory, mathematical performance.

 

Mechanism – increases neuron connections, increases the size and numbers of dendrites, increases the numbers of connections between neurons. Decreased testosterone causes decreased estrogen which produces cognitive complaints. Testosterone increases brain blood perfusion, decreases beta-amyloid secretion, and decreases beta-amyloid toxicity.

 

Memory loss from testosterone deficiency is worse in the second half of the day and after physical activity.  Memory is better in the morning. Hesitation with words is a characteristic of testosterone loss.

 

First improvement with treatment is 2-4 months. Last improvement is in the next 8-12 months.

 

If you are having memory problems or fear Alzheimer’s disease, it is crucial to have your hormones checked, and replaced if deficient.