Scientists at the University of Alberta have found that key risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease affect men and women differently. The results of the research were published at: Alzheimer’s Journal.
The scientists used data from 623 older adults over the age of 44 who were collected. The researchers studied two risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease – the presence of mutations in the BIN1 gene and vascular health as measured by pulse pressure.
They found that poor vascular health (high pulse pressure) was associated with poorer episodic memory in both men and women. Eventual memory is the memory of everyday events, such as what we ate for breakfast the day before.
However, even a good pulse pressure could not protect people with a mutation in BIN1 from memory loss. Additionally, the presence of the two risk factors had a much stronger effect on memory in men, but not in women. This finding was unexpected because women are more often diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease than men.
The results of the study will emphasize the importance of considering the differences between men and women in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and will enable more effective identification of people at risk.
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Source: Gazeta
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