Weight loss as a predictor of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease?

摘要

Our understanding of Alzheimer’s diseasern(AD) is changing as we get morerninformation about the natural history ofrnthe disease. It turns out that AD notrnonly results in cognitive dysfunction, butrnmay also have a variety of other symptoms,rndepending on which brain regionsrnare affected.rnWeight loss, especially unintentional, isrnnot a normal part of aging and usuallyrnrepresents an underlying disease processrn[1] and leads to poor health outcomes.rnWeight loss is a frequent complication ofrnAD and occurs in 30–40% of patients atrnall stages [2]. It is associated with fasterrnprogression of dementia and with nursingrnhome placement