The amount of muscle mass you maintain depends on how much testosterone and growth hormone you produce or replace.
The brain is complex and is not a static organ. It is always growing new cells and breaking down the old cells. Like the rest of the body the brain is in a state of flux all the time. As we age without our sex hormones and growth hormones, breaking down occurs more rapidly than regrowth and our brain literally shrinks. Another quite rapid symptom is the loss of short -term memory at the time before menopause when testosterone and GH decrease to a critical level. These hormone losses trigger the diverting of the brain blood flow from the area of the brain that holds recent memories. This causes immediate loss of words you are looking for when trying to describe something or someone. Most people forget names of people and places.
There is loss of special ability like the function you need to discern the length or size of something or interpret architectural plans. This immediate memory loss reverses in the first 6 months of testosterone replacement, if it is within the first 10 years after testosterone levels drop. “An Italian study in 2000 demonstrated that there is a cognitive impairment without dementia which increases with age and is more prevalent in women than men”
“In the same year, Dr. Capurso and researchers at the university of Bari found an age -related decline in cognitive function that causes a mild deterioration in memory performance, executive functioning and speed of cognitive processing”
“The study concludes that the aging associated cognitive decline may be preventable and suggest the following:
- Avoidance of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases
- Attaining a high -level education
- Maintenance of vision and hearing capacities.
Dr. Maupin believes that brain function can be protected from decline by taking testosterone, estradiol (for women), keeping thyroid function and growth hormones optimal. Several studies reveal the truth that replacement of testosterone in the first 10 years after its decline, can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia for 10 years after it would normally occur. Other studies on women showed that replacement of estradiol in any form delayed the onset of these diseases of aging brain by 10 more years if it is taken in the window of 10 years after menopause. This reveals how important the sex hormones are to our brains.
We also want to talk about muscle mass, strength, and stamina and aging.
The amount of muscle mass you maintain depends on how much testosterone and growth hormone you produce or replace, the amount and kind of exercise you do, the genetic composition of your muscle such as do you have 100% slow twitch muscle which gives you the ability for long distance and long lasting strenuous exercise, or 100% fast twitch muscle which makes you good at short spurts of muscle work, lifting weights, and short but powerful muscle work of any kind or were you born with a combo? Diet/Nutrition is also important because you can -not build muscle without the building blocks from animal protein.
When you are given replacement hormone of testosterone, it stimulates your production of growth hormone which you make naturally. This is important because age related reduction in growth hormone is one of the most robust endocrine markers of biological aging. The reduction of GH and IGF-1 impairs reference memory and seems to be reversable with the administration of GHRH. (growth hormone releasing hormones).
“muscle strength is a critical component of the ability to walk and to avoid falls and fractures. Reduced muscle strength as we age is a major cause for an increased prevalence of disability.
If we can prevent the loss of muscle as we age, we will age more slowly and remain independent as we grow older.
Advancing adult age is associated with profound changes in body composition, the principal component of which is a decrease in skeletal muscle This age-related loss of skeletal muscle is referred to as sarcopenia.”
“Studies indicate that age related decline in skeletal muscle may contribute to such age associated changes as reduction in bone density, insulin sensitivity, and aerobic capacity.”
The final component of this week’s conversation references the sensory system. The principal conclusion of the discussion regarding the loss of sense of taste and smell, hearing and sight, suggests that attending to:
- Nutrition
- Hormones
- Lifestyle
May expand your lifespan, while, at the same time, enhance the quality of that human life.
This Health cast was written and presented by Dr. Kathy Maupin, M.D., Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Expert and Author, with Brett Newcomb, MA., LPC., Family Counselor, Presenter and Author. www.BioBalanceHealth.com.
