Preliminary study results suggest that it may be possible to identify men at high-risk of developing age-related memory loss by measuring levels of the stress hormone epinephrine in their urine. Dr Arun Karlamangla and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles studied 154 seniors aged 70 and over who were in good physical and mental shape. The researchers took urine samples from participants and tested their mental performance back in 1988. The same tests were then carried out again 2.5 and 7 years later. Results showed that men whose epinephrine levels increased over the first 2.5 years of the study were more likely to gain worse results in tests of memory and mental ability at the next round of tests 4.5 years later. The findings in women were not clinically significant.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.reutershealth.com on the 25th November 2002
