Adolescent obesity linked to Alzheimer's

(ANSA) - Rome, May 12 - Obesity in adolescence has been linked to an increased risk for Alzheimer's Disease, according to a study that was published in the current issue of the journal Pediatrics.
    The finding means that in addition to increasing the risk of diabetes, fatty liver disease, retinal damage and heart disease, those extra pounds could also lead to cognitive deficits that grow into the devastating senile dementia known as Alzheimer's. Researchers at the Roman clinic Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù discovered in obese adolescents elevated levels of the amyloid beta 42 peptide. Amyloid beta peptides of 36-43 amino acids are the main component in amyloid plaques found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's Disease. The study involved 440 children and adolescents, with 101 children between the ages of 2 and 6, and 339 older children.
    The mixed group included obese and normal weight children. The higher level of amyloid beta 42 was found in obese adolescents who had developed insulin resistance, a condition that presages diabetes.