Alzheimer’s Disease :: Low testosterone in aging men and Alzheimer’s Disease

Waning testosterone levels in aging men may be responsible for a slew of physical symptoms, dementia among them. Recent studies indicate that men with Alzheimer”s disease (AD) have lower testosterone level than aged men without AD.

Because the decline in testosterone concentrations precedes symptoms of AD, testosterone could increase the risk of disease development.

Based on this evidence, Rosario et al. tested the relationship between testosterone and AD development using a triple transgenic mouse model of AD, which carries mutations in amyloid precursor protein, presenilin1, and tau.

Castrating the transgenic mice at 3 months led to significant increases in the deposition of the ?-amyloid (A?) peptide in the amygdala and the hippocampus after a 4 month interval.

There were also associated behavioral deficits, indicating that complete androgen depletion can speed up AD-like pathology.

These effects were prevented if the castrated mice were treated with androgen.


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