[Dysphagia] Wt loss in Alzheimers

[eripley at yahoo.com (Irene Campbell-Taylor)]

Weight loss in Alzheimer - assuming it really is Alzheimer - is part of the disease and is believed to start even before the first signs. As brain cells are lost, so are the neurotransmitters controlling metabolism, appetite etc. I have seen Alzheimer patients consuming >5000cal/day (fed by family) who still appear cachectic. See:

Weight loss and metabolic changes in dementia.

 

J Nutr Health Aging 2002 May;6(3):201-5   

 

Wang SY 



Energy expenditure, energy intake, and weight loss in Alzheimer disease.

 

Am J Clin Nutr 2000 Feb;71(2):650S-655S 

 

Poehlman ET; Dvorak RV 



Weight loss in cancer and Alzheimer's disease is mediated by a similar pathway.

 

Med Hypotheses 1999 Aug;53(2):172-4    

 

Knittweis J 



Weight loss in Alzheimer's disease: an international review of the literature.

 

Int Psychogeriatr 1994 Fall;6(2):135-42  

 

Wolf-Klein GP; Silverstone FA 



Weight loss precedes Alzheimer's disease symptoms: a case study.

 

J Am Geriatr Soc 1998 Apr;46(4):540-1  

 

Knittweis J 

Weight loss in Alzheimer's disease and resting energy expenditure (REE), a preliminary report.

 

J Am Geriatr Soc 1997 Nov;45(11):1414-5    

 

Reyes-Ortega G; Guyonnet S; Ousset PJ; Nourhashemi F; Vellas B; Albarede JL; De Glizezinski I; Riviere D; Fitten LJ 

Weight loss in people with Alzheimer's disease: a prospective population based analysis.

 

BMJ 1997 Jan 18;314(7075):178-9    

 

Cronin-Stubbs D; Beckett LA; Scherr PA; Field TS; Chown MJ; Pilgrim DM; Bennett DA; Evans DA 

Prasher VP; Metseagharun T; Haque S Weight loss in adults with Down syndrome and with dementia in Alzheimer's disease. Res Dev Disabil 2004 Jan-Feb;25(1):1-7   


"v.cooper" <v.cooper@sbcglobal.net> wrote: 
Can anyone help me w/references which explain why the person w/adv alzheimers loses wt altho they eat what appears to be enough? I have a rt in a nursing home who is 94 yo, weighs 74 lbs...gaining or losing a couple of lbs a week. She has hx multiple cva, adv alzh, cardiac problems. She is nonamb so is not walking off calories. We had a meeting yesterday w/the ombudsman and they want to put in a tube. But she eats 80-100% of a fortified diet (pureed--has dysphagia) plus supplements. I couldnt eat that much food!!! The medical director wants specifics on the process that causes this wt loss. He says that a tube will put on wt but I havent found that to be the case.

Any help appreciated.
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Dr I Campbell-Taylor
Clinical Neuroscientist
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