Does Thinness Raise Alzheimer's Risk? < Nov. 23, 2011 > -- In
the search for early markers of Alzheimer's disease - in hopes
of eventually preventing it - researchers have found that low
body weight may somehow play a role. In a study published this
week in the journal Neurology, people with early signs of
Alzheimer's disease were more likely to be underweight or have a
low body mass index (BMI). Earlier studies found that people who
are overweight in middle age or earlier are at higher risk for
Alzheimer's later in life. Other studies have shown that being
overweight later in life seems to protect against the disease.
More research needed What the latest study findings mean for
diagnosing or preventing Alzheimer's disease is unclear. "A long
history of declining weight or BMI could aid the diagnostic
process," says study author Eric Vidoni, Ph.D., at the
University of Kansas. But, he adds, it's too early "to make body
composition part of the diagnostic toolbox." Dr. Vidoni and
colleagues studied brain imagin