Luteinizing Hormone Levels are Positively Correlated with Plasma Amyloid-beta Protein Levels in Elderly Men

Authors

• Giuseppe Verdile, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
• Bu Yeap, University of Western Australia
• Roger Clarnette, Edith Cowan University
• Satvinder Dhaliwal, Curtin University
• Melanie Burkhardt, Edith Cowan University
• S A Paul Chubb, Fremantle Hospital
• Karl De Ruyck, Edith Cowan University
• Mark Rodrigues, Edith Cowan University
• Pankaj D. Mehta, Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, New York
• Jonathan Foster, Edith Cowan University
• David Bruce, University of Western Australia
• Ralph Martins, Edith Cowan University

Document Type

Journal Article

Keywords

[RSTDPub], Alzheimer's disease, amyloid-β, cognition, luteinizing hormone, testosterone

Publisher

IOS Press

Faculty

Faculty of Computing, Health and Science

School

School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Science / Centre of Excellence in Alzheimer’s Disease Research

RAS ID

5927

Comments

Verdile, G. , Yeap, B., Clarnette, R. , Dhaliwal, S., Burkhardt, M., Chubb, S., De Ruyck, K. , Rodrigues, M. A., Mehta, P., Foster, J. K., Bruce, D., & Martins, R. N. (2008). Luteinizing Hormone Levels are Positively Correlated with Plasma Amyloid-beta Protein Levels in Elderly Men. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 14(2), 201-208. Available here

Abstract

Dysregulation of the hypothalamic pituitary gonadal (HPG) axis during aging has been associated with increased risk of cognitive decline and developing dementia. Compared to controls, men with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been shown to have lower serum testosterone levels and higher serum luteinizing hormone (LH) levels. As serum free testosterone concentration is negatively correlated with LH in older men, the independent contributions of these hormones to the pathogenesis of AD warrants further clarification. To explore this notion, we measured plasma amyloid-β (Aβ), serum testosterone, serum LH and other biochemical parameters in 40 cognitively normal elderly men. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that serum LH concentration is the only parameter that significantly correlates with plasma Aβ levels in these men (r=0.5, p=0.041). These results suggest that increased serum LH concentration, rather than lower serum free testosterone, is associated with the accumulation of Aβ in plasma. Larger, longitudinal human studies are needed to determine the significance of LH in the pathogenesis of AD.