Alzheimer's Gene Increases Risk in Women

A recent study conducted by researchers from Stanford University shows that a newly discovered gene may explain why more women develop dementia than men. For the female sex in particular, researchers found that having this gene significantly increased their risk for the health issue.

For the study, researchers from the university examined data collected on more than 8,000 people who came from around 30 Alzheimer's centers throughout the United States, with most participants over the age of 60. All were also monitored over an extended period of time.

The researchers discovered a gene variant known as ApoE4 that can increase Alzheimer's risk for both men and women. Yet for women with the gene variant, the risk is nearly two times greater.

"Our study showed that, among healthy older controls, having one copy of the ApoE4 variant confers a substantial Alzheimer's disease risk in women, but not in men," said Michael Greicius, MD, assistant professor of neurology and neurological sciences and medical director of the Stanford Center for Memory Disorders, via NPR. "Even after correcting for age, women appear to be at greater risk."

The ApoE4 gene is responsible for moving fatty substances throughout the body, which cell functions within the brain greatly depend on. Background information from the study shows that around one in four people carry this gene.

"What is interesting in relation to this paper is that animal and cellular studies suggest that there is an interaction between APOE4 and estrogen," said Michelle Mielke, a psychiatric epidemiology at Mayo Clinic,  via NPR. "So that may possibly be explaining the findings we're seeing here in humans."

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the Annals of Neurology.