
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 30, 1993                   TAG: 9303300249
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ALZHEIMER'S RISK

Women are more likely than men to succumb to the incurable brain disorder Alzheimer's disease in middle age. That's according to a British study, which found that the incidence of Alzheimer's in women age 40-64 was 52 cases per 100,000 against 28 cases for men the same age. "Our results suggest that female sex is a risk factor in presenile Alzheimer's disease," the researchers report in the British Medical Journal. "The pressing question is what is it about being female that increases the risk of this condition?"

But there's some hopeful news about Alzheimer's, too: A drug related to the nicotine found in tobacco is showing potential as a possible treatment for Alzheimer's and memory loss associated with aging, reports Diana Woodruff-Pak, a Temple University psychology professor currently testing nicotinic agonist on rabbits. Human trials could begin as early as this year.

Forget something?

You're far from alone if you sometimes lose things or have trouble remembering names of people you know well. A survey done for the Charles A. Dana Foundation indicates about half of people ages 18 to 44 and 45 to 54 sometimes or frequently lose things, as do 58 percent of people ages 55 to 64, 55 percent of those ages 65 to 74, and 73 percent of those ages 75 and older. As for remembering names, 13 percent of people ages 18 to 44 have trouble sometimes or frequently, compared with 35 percent for ages 45 to 54, 48 percent for ages 55 to 64, 55 percent for ages 65 to 74, and 51 percent at ages 75 and above.

by CNB