Weight Loss Surgery ‘Reduces Chance of Alzheimer’s Disease’

Weight loss surgery could reduce the risk of Alzheimers’ disease, a new study suggests. Previous research has found that obesity increases the risks of the condition by 35 percent. The new study found that when obese women underwent bariatric surgery, changes in their brain which are linked to Alzheimer’s disease were reversed.

Brain scans found that before the operations, the obese women had increased activity in a part of the brain — the posterior cingulate gyrus — which is connected to the development of dementia. Six months after surgery, the activity levels in the same part of the brain were similar to those of lean women. Obesity surgery could be offered to a million more people on the UK’s National Health Service.

Separate neuropsychological tests found improvements in organizational and planning skills, after obese women underwent surgery. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, is the first to assess brain activity in women before and after bariatric surgery. The brains of the obese women metabolized sugars at a higher rate than those among women of normal weight, the study found, leading to the changes in brain activity, researchers said.

Source/more: The Telegraph