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Could hot flashes be an indicator of Alzheimer disease?
Hot flashes during sleep may be an early marker of a woman’s risk for developing Alzheimer disease (AD), according to the results of a study presented at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Menopause Society held September 27 to 30, in Philadelphia, PA.
“These findings indicate that women who experience frequent hot flashes, particularly during sleep, may warrant AD dementia risk reduction efforts,” said Rebecca Thurston, PhD, director of Women’s Biobehavioral Health at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry, and lead author of the study.
Women make up two-thirds of individuals with AD. Prior skin conductance studies have shown that vasomotor symptoms (VMS) or hot flashes are linked to poor memory performance with alterations in brain structure, function, and connectivity, the researchers said. To study the role menopause may play in the development of AD, the researcher wanted to determine whether objectively-assessed VMS are associated with AD blood-based biomarkers, which are especially useful in assessing a patient’s risk decades before the onset of AD dementia.
The study results indicate that hot flashes experienced during sleep may be a marker of women at risk for AD dementia. Researchers also concluded that a greater number of sleep hot flashes were associated with an increased risk for AD.
Source
Hot flashes yet another early indicator for Alzheimer’s disease. The Menopause Society, press release.
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