Montreal [Canada]: A recent study discovered a relationship between neurodegeneration and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patients, meaning that losing weight could minimise cognitive decline and cut the prevalence of AD. According to a prior study, obesity has been linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related changes such as cerebrovascular damage and amyloid formation. However, no studies that directly compare brain shrinkage patterns in AD and obesity have been undertaken yet.
Using a sample of over 1,300 individuals, the researchers compared patterns of grey matter atrophy in obesity and AD. They compared the AD patients with healthy controls, and obese with non-obese individuals, creating maps of grey matter atrophy for each group. The scientists found that obesity and AD affected grey matter cortical thinning in similar ways. For example, thinning in the right temporoparietal cortex and left prefrontal cortex were identical in both groups. Cortical thinning may be a sign of neurodegeneration. This suggests that obesity may cause the same type of neurodegeneration as found in people with AD.