Methods cont.

Nevertheless, there is a growing body of research surfacing every now and then about potential biomarkers for diagnosing AD early and potential therapies. A study done in Umea University Hospital in Sweden looks at how hormones released by our adrenal glands (adrenocortical) and our reproductive organs (gonadal) can essentially help to detect AD in its early stages. Majority of the people diagnosed with this disease fall in the category of mid 60s and older. As our body ages, it is normal for our hormones to start depleting, especially reproductive ones (estrogen and testosterone). However, in this study, the findings were quite different. They were able to obtain 33 patients with mild to moderate AD (12 men and 21 women, aged approximately 76 years old). They were compared to 22 healthy patients who were already part of a Longitudinal study at the Umea Hospital. They were part of the control group that is usually present for comparison. They had exclusion factors that included medication use, acute medical illness, endocrine disorders, depression, infectious diseases, prostatic hyperplasia, smoking and excessive alcohol intake.