Frontline: Strong bones and dementia; Drug for hot flashes; Clogged arteries
Stronger Bones Linked with Lower Dementia Risk
Older adults who have weaker, more brittle bones are more likely to develop dementia, according to a study published May 16, 2023, in the journal Neurology. In the study, bone mineral density (BMD) was measured at various locations using a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan. Study participants were 3,651 adults, median age 72, who had not been diagnosed with dementia when they began the study (between 2002 and 2005). The participants were followed for an average of 11.1 years. During the follow-up period, 18.8 percent of the participants developed dementia; more than 75 percent of those with dementia were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Participants with the lowest BMD at the femoral neck (the thinnest part at the top of the thigh bone) and total body were at highest risk of developing dementia. At this time, it is unknown if the relationship between low BMD and dementia is causal, but the findings suggest that taking steps to improve your BMD may be beneficial to more than your bones.
New Drug Approved for Hot Flashes
On May 12, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved fezolinetant (Veozah), an oral medication for the treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms, or hot flashes, caused by menopause. The drug works by blocking a receptor that plays a role in the brain’s regulation of body temperature. One possible serious side effect of the drug is liver injury; women taking the drug will need blood tests every three months for the first nine months to monitor liver function. Women who have cirrhosis or advanced kidney disease should not take Veozah.
Clogged Arteries May Be More Dangerous to Women Than to Men
Postmenopausal women with atherosclerosis (narrowing of arteries due to plaque buildup) are at much higher risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) such as heart attack and death than men with the same condition, according to a study published May 11, 2023, in the European Heart Journal–Cardiovascular Imaging. In the study, coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) was used to take images of the participants’ coronary arteries and assign risk scores. On average, women were 12 years older than men when their CCTA scores began to increase. Postmenopausal women with a moderate CCTA score had a 64 percent higher risk of MACE than men with a moderate CCTA score, and women with a high CCTA score had an almost 400 percent greater likelihood of MACE than men with a high CCTA score. One of the study authors said, “This [difference in MACE risk] could be partly because the inner diameter of coronary arteries is smaller in women, meaning that the same amount of plaque could have a larger impact on blood flow.”
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