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.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Human Growth Hormone and Testosterone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sly Stallone, in his last Rambo film, was as physical and dynamic as ever. In contrast, the last Indiana Jones movie disappointed me with the shuffling, slurring, grumpy old man that used to be Indy. My 17 year old dubbed Ford an old man, but pegged Stallone as in his 40’s.  Playing action figures, both men are in their 60’s. What’s the difference? Growth hormone and testosterone.

 

When Rambo came out in January 2008, Stallone publicly admitted to using growth hormone and testosterone. “HGH (human growth hormone) is nothing,” the 61-year-old actor told Time magazine in its Feb. 4 issue. “Anyone who calls it a steroid is grossly misinformed. Testosterone to me is so important for a sense of well-being when you get older,” he says. “Everyone over 40 years old would be wise to investigate it because it increases the quality of your life. Mark my words. In 10 years it will be over the counter.”

Thank goodness a prominent male celebrity has the guts to talk about hormone health for men!

Sly is right! Growth hormone is not a steroid and testosterone and growth hormone are very important to quality of life in men over 40. Both growth hormone and testosterone get a bad rap due to sports figures over-using them to gain unfair advantage. We are not talking about abuse with synthetic, liver-toxic poisons sold in the back rooms of gyms. We are talking about molecularly bioidentical growth hormone and testosterone native to the human body given in healthy physiologic amounts.

With age, men steadily lose both these hormones starting at about age 30. By the time a man is 60, he may have only ¼ the testosterone and growth hormone of a 25 year old man. This is nature’s way of shutting us down, except we stay alive due to our living conditions and disease-oriented medicine. You may have normal hormone levels for a 60 year old, but this is not optimal for health. The healthiest adults are in their 20’s, who have optimal levels of testosterone and growth hormone.

Human growth hormone is biosynthetic and has the exact same molecular structure as in the human body. It is responsible for growth, healing, immune function, increased muscle mass, minimizing body fat, controlling cholesterol, maintaining sexual energy, and increasing bone strength. It improves heart function and cognitive ability including memory, alertness, motivation, work capacity, speed of information processing and sociability. Growth hormone replacement at physiologic levels does not cause cancer. Growth hormone acts synergistically with testosterone in that their beneficial effects together are greater than either one alone. Growth hormone is approved for use in Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency, which is a common occurrence in adults over 40 years old.

Decreased testosterone in men results in increased aging of the heart and circulation including increased heart attacks and strokes. There is increased brain aging with decreased memory, decreased intelligence, increased dementia, and increased Alzheimer’s. Men lose their drive and competitive edge.  They get stiffness and pain in muscles and joints, decreased effectiveness in workouts, and a falling level of fitness. In addition they get more fat and less muscle, osteoporosis (yes, like women), and anemia. Fatigue, depression, mood changes and irritability (grumpy old man syndrome) are common. And of course, there is reduced libido and potency. Testosterone does not cause prostate cancer.

These declines in men happen more gradually than menopause and often become accepted as “just getting old”.  Sadly, some men perceive hormone loss as a matter of ego instead of health. Remember, we may get old, but do not need to feel old!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Testosterone in Women

 

 Testosterone is an anabolic steroid produced by both men and women. Anabolic simply means it helps to build you up. Although women have testosterone levels that are only one-tenth to one twelfth the levels of men, it is an important hormone for women.

 

Testosterone is usually the first hormone to decrease in women in the pre-menopause and may start to decline in your thirties even before progesterone and estrogen decline.

 

Testosterone has many beneficial effects in women. Its most well-known effect is restoring libido and improving the ability to orgasm. It can increase the size and sensitivity of the clitoris.

 

Other important benefits are improving mood, reducing depression, and increasing energy. It may help to reduce panic attacks.

 

Testosterone increases physical strength by building muscle and improving muscle tone. This is an important effect since many women lose upper body strength with age. It also reduces fat and cellulite and increases fat-free mass.

 

It can reduce aches, pains, and fibromyalgia. It also helps fight fatigue.

 

Testosterone increases the bone mineral density of the hip and spine preserving bone mass. It improves osteoporosis.

 

Testosterone is a controlled prescription medication and must be administered as a cream or gel through the skin because oral testosterone can be toxic to the liver. Testosterone should not be taken by women in the absence of adequate estrogen levels because it may increase heart disease.

 

Testosterone applied to the clitoris can improve sexual sensitivity. Estriol and testosterone applied to the vaginal area can improve tissue quality and treat urinary leakage. Taking hormones transdermally can help urinary leakage as well.

 

As with all other bio-identical hormone treatments, the effects of testosterone must be monitored by a physician. Signs of too much testosterone are oily skin, acne, over-developed muscles, excess body odor, greasy hair, exaggerated aggression, and disruptive sexual desire.

 

When I first started testosterone, I got two speeding tickets in one month. At that point I stopped using it for a few weeks and started again at a lower dose. I have found testosterone to be helpful in overcoming panic attacks and fears (Is this why men are brave?) and helps increase emotional shield.

 

Testosterone has a place in all balance hormone replacement programs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Testosterone in Men

There has been a lot of buzz about women’s hormones, but you hear very little about men. To make it worse, men do not seek or share this information as women do. How many men do you know who go out for coffee with their buddies and talk about their hormones? Few people appreciate the pervasive effects of testosterone on men’s general health.  

 

The fact is that as men age, they lose their testosterone. The loss of youthful levels of testosterone with the onset of its associated symptoms is sometimes called andropause. It is the natural diminution (or pause) in production of male hormone (an androgen) as men age.

 

Testosterone loss in men is a gradual process. Testosterone decline starts around age 30, and may drop 1% to 3 % per year depending on genetics and lifestyle. That means that men can sustain a 20% drop in testosterone by age 50, and a 50% drop by age 80. Each man may experience the symptoms of a decline in testosterone differently depending on what his normal was at his hormonal peak.  Often the symptoms are ignored or rationalized away until the resultant decreased functioning becomes a way of life.

 

The most obvious and disturbing changes for men are those of sexual function, but equally troubling symptoms of low testosterone may manifest as a decline in mental functions, musculoskeletal conditions, and metabolic or physical diseases.

 

Changes in mental functioning may manifest as spells of mental fatigue and inability to concentrate, feeling burned out, low energy, tiredness or sleepiness in the afternoon or evening, decrease in mental sharpness, attention, and wit, or a change in creativity like getting spontaneous new ideas. There may be a decrease in desire to start new projects, or a decreased interest in past hobbies or new work-related activities.  Competitiveness may diminish and irritability increase. Memory functions may become impaired with increased forgetfulness. Men can experience a sense of depression with a sense that work, marriage, or recreational activities have lost their significance.

 

Musculoskeletal symptoms may appear as sore-body syndrome with aches and joint and muscle pains. A decline in flexibility and mobility may be noticed with increased stiffness. Muscle size, tone, and strength may decrease. Physical stamina and athletic performance may decline. Some men experience back pain, neck pain, or a tendency to pull muscles or get leg cramps. Some develop osteoporosis or inflammatory arthritis.

 

Low testosterone levels correlate with more risk factors of heart disease than any other individual factor in the male body. Cardiovascular risk factors increase in men as testosterone decreases.  Cholesterol and triglyceride levels increase, coronary and major arteries constrict leading to a greater risk of cardiac events, and blood pressure rises. Insulin resistance increases with obesity, adult diabetes, and increased cortisol levels. There is increased central abdominal fat with increased waist to hip ratio. Estrogen levels associated with higher stroke and heart attack rates (and increased fat in the breast and hip area) increase. Another increase associated with decreased testosterone is in lipoprotein A and fibrinogen, which correlate with cardiac events. Also, human growth hormone output decreases leading to a decline in energy, strength, stamina, and heart muscle mass and output. Low testosterone levels are associated with increased incidence of death even after researchers adjust for age, medical problems, and variables.

 

Although not all signs and symptoms of aging are due to hormonal decline, many correlate well with a decline in hormones and can be alleviated by hormone adjustment.

 

Treatment of low testosterone should be administered by a doctor trained in hormone therapy after a full history, examination, and laboratory testing. Regular follow-up is important to control symptoms, prevent side effects, and to make sure hormone levels are optimal.

 

 

 

Dr. Candice Lane is a physician specializing in hormone replacement therapy. She is a diplomate and fellow of the American Academy for Anti-aging and Regenerative Medicine. Her practice is at 1250 La Venta Drive, Ste. 206, Westlake Village, Ca 91361.      805-496-7869     .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progesterone Deficiency

 

Although the traditional definition of menopause is 12 months without a period, hormone loss can start 10-15 years before this happens. Testosterone starts declining first, and then progesterone. Estrogen is the last to go and is often signaled by the infamous “hot flash” we’ve all heard about.

Most women start feeling differently from their younger selves in their 40’s when progesterone starts declining. But even young women can have decreased progesterone which can manifest as PMS (premenstrual syndrome), often associated with stress or hormonal birth control. The most common symptoms of decreased progesterone include:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Irritability
• Insomnia
• Mood swings
• Osteoporosis
• Pain and inflammation (aching joints, back)
• Increasing HDL cholesterol
• Excessive menstruation
• Weight gain or inability to lose weight.
• Fibroids
• Fibrocystic disease of the breast
• Breast tenderness
• Bloating
• Indigestion
• Gas
• Snoring
• Migraine headaches

There are other causes of decreased progesterone besides decreased production. These include:

• Stress
• Antidepressants
• Sugar
• Saturated fats
• Deficiency of vitamins A, B6, C, and Zinc
• Decreased thyroid hormone
• Taking progestins (a synthetic progesterone) in birth control pills and birth control devices, or in Prempro (synthetic hormone replacement)

Natural bioidentical (same molecular structure as in the human body) progesterone

has many beneficial effects including:

• A calming effect
• Helps sleep
• Balances estrogen
• Lowers blood pressure
• Helps the body metabolize fats
• Lowers cholesterol
• Increases scalp hair
• Is a natural diuretic
• Is a natural antidepressant
• Increases metabolic rate

 

If are experiencing the symptoms of progesterone deficiency, it is important to be tested by a knowledgeable physician to see if you need replacement. Natural bioidentical progesterone replacement may be all you need to start feeling yourself again.