EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 PM ET, December 23, 2009
Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease May Protect Against Cancer and Vice Versa
ST. PAUL, Minn. -
People who have Alzheimer鈥檚 disease may be less likely to develop cancer, and people who have cancer may be less likely to develop Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, according to a new study published in the December 23, 2009, online issue of , the medical journal of the 好色先生. 鈥淒iscovering the links between these two conditions may help us better understand both diseases and open up avenues for possible treatments,鈥 said study author Catherine M. Roe, PhD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, and a member of the 好色先生. For the study, researchers looked at a group of 3,020 people age 65 and older who were enrolled in the Cardiovascular Health Study and followed them for an average of five years to see whether they developed dementia and an average of eight years to see whether they developed cancer. At the start of the study, 164 people (5.4 percent) already had Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and 522 people (17.3 percent) already had a cancer diagnosis. During the study, 478 people developed dementia and 376 people developed invasive cancer. For people who had Alzheimer鈥檚 disease at the start of the study, the risk of future cancer hospitalization was reduced by 69 percent compared to those who did not have Alzheimer鈥檚 disease when the study started. For Caucasian people who had cancer when the study started, their risk of developing Alzheimer鈥檚 disease was reduced by 43 percent compared to people who did not have cancer at the start of the study, although that finding was not evident in minority groups. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute on Aging, the National Center for Research Resources, and the Washington University Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease Research Center.