Alzheimer's disease 'affected by testosterone levels'

Low levels of the hormone testosterone have been linked to the onset of Alzheimer's disease in older men.

Research conducted by scientists at Saint Louis University found that older males who lack testosterone develop Alzheimer's disease more often than those with more normal levels of the hormone.

A total of 153 Chinese men were studied over a period of ten years from the age of 55 to gather the evidence to support the conclusions.

Study lead author Dr John Morley, said that these results clearly show that more attention should be paid to testosterone production.

"It's a very exciting study because we've shown that a low level of testosterone is one of the risk factors for Alzheimer's disease," he added.

It was recently claimed by researchers from Geneva in Switzerland that new MRI techniques could help to identify which patients with mild cognitive impairment would go on to develop Alzheimer's disease.

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