[Dysphagia] weight loss and SDAT

[eripley at yahoo.com (Irene Campbell-Taylor)]

This has been suggested for a number of years and seems to be true. If so, it makes end of life decisions re feeding somewhat clearer if weight loss is part of the disease:
   
  Accelerated weight loss may precede diagnosis in Alzheimer disease. Arch Neurol. 2006 Sep;63(9):1312-7  ?         Johnson DK, 
  ?         Wilkins CH, 
  ?         Morris JC. 
  OBJECTIVES: To determine the association of weight loss and the onset of dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) and to characterize the rate of weight change over time in older adults (aged 65-95 years) who develop DAT vs those who remain without dementia. DESIGN: Rates of weight change were investigated in older adult research participants (N = 449) who were enrolled as control subjects without dementia and followed up longitudinally (6 years on average) at the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine. Some individuals (n = 125) eventually developed DAT; the others (n = 324) remained without dementia. Body weight was measured at each annual assessment. Piecewise linear regression and random effects models were used to test longitudinal rates of weight change between the groups. RESULTS: Participants without dementia lost about 0.6 lb per year. For those individuals who developed DAT, about 1 year before the detection of DAT, the rate of
 weight loss doubled (1.2 lb per year). As a group, participants who eventually developed DAT weighed less (about 8 pounds) at study enrollment (ie, when they did not have dementia) than participants who remained without dementia. CONCLUSIONS: Aging with and without DAT is associated with weight loss; however, weight loss may accelerate before the diagnosis of DAT. Specific factors contributing to weight loss are unknown, but these data suggest they operate before the development of DAT. Hence, weight loss may be a preclinical indicator of Alzheimer disease.
   
   


Dr I Campbell-Taylor
Clinical Neuroscientist
Exclusive Distributor:
www.interactivetherapy.com