It has previously been discovered that individuals with various forms of cancer demonstrate a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). A new study conducted by the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology & Venereology found that this discovery holds true specifically for people who have malignant melanoma (MM).
The Study
Patients between the age of 60 and 88 were gathered to participate in this study. Participants were screened for AD, MM or non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and data was recorded on their age, gender, race and duration. Of the 1,147 patients who were diagnosed with malignant melanoma, five were also diagnosed with subsequent AD, establishing a link between the two.
Conclusions
After adjusting confounding factors like race, gender, age, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease and diabetes, it was observed that patients with MM had a decreased risk of AD. The researches found that patients with MM had a 61% reduced risk of developing AD.
