Tag Archives: types of dementia

Pesticides link to dementia

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Long term exposure to pesticides may be linked to the development of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia, according to new research.

French researchers monitored the intellectual abilities of more than 600 vineyard workers for six years. All were in their 40s and 50s and had worked in agriculture for at least 20 years.

At the start and end of the study, all completed detailed questionnaires about their work history and underwent nine “neuro-behavioural” tests designed to measure memory and recall; language retrieval and verbal skills; and reaction time speeds.

One in five had never been exposed to pesticides as part of their job; over half had been directly exposed, and the remainder had been possibly or certainly indirectly exposed.

The workers who had been exposed to pesticides were the most likely to perform worse in the neuro-behavioural tests at the end of the six year period.

Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's

They were also up to five times as likely to obtain lower scores on both sets of test, and were twice as likely to drop two points in a mini mental state exam (MMSE) – a test often used to determine if someone has dementia.

The researchers said the lower MMSE scores were “particularly striking in view of the short duration of follow up and the relatively young age of the participants.”

“The mild impairment we observed raises the question of the potentially higher risks of injury in this population and also of the possible evolution towards neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias,” the researchers said.


Dr Anne Corbett, research communications manager at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “This is a relatively small study carried out over a short period of time so we must be careful not to read too much into the results.

“We don’t for example know if the cognitive decline is definitely caused by the pesticides or by other unidentified risk factors that could be common to this group. It is also a step too far to say this decline would lead to dementia.

“One in three people over 65 will die with dementia. Much more research is needed to build on this latest study and to move us closer to establishing the causes and finding a cure for this devastating condition.”

The findings are published online in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Dementia drug ‘within our grasp’

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A drug treatment that could slow the onset of certain types of dementia could be ‘within our grasp’, say Australian scientists.

Dr John Kwok and colleagues from Neuroscience Research, Sydney, have identified a gene that causes abnormal protein deposits in the brains of people with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a disease that affects people in their 50s and 60s.

Kwok said there were already several drugs approved for human use that were known to act on this gene.

“Common psychiatric drugs, such as haloperidol, used to treat schizophrenia, are known to act on this gene,” News.com.au quoted him as saying.

Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's

“Our hope is that these drugs will slow the progression of the disease,” he added.

Preliminary work with haloperidol suggested that a dose 10-100 times less than that used for treating psychosis could be effective.


“The exciting part about our findings is that an effective treatment for this form of dementia might be almost within our grasp,” Knok said.

“Because these drugs are already approved for use in humans, we could be looking at a treatment for frontotemporal dementia becoming available in just a few short years,” he added.

FTD is a type of dementia that affects personality, behaviour and language. Currently, there is no treatment to slow or stop this disease.

Like in Alzheimer’s disease, people with FTD develop unusual deposits of protein in their brains and the discovery of the gene responsible is a significant step.