Why are more women prone to Alzheimer’s? New clues arise

(Hannah Flynn/ Medical News Today) –– Women are nearly twice as likely as men to develop Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but there is little understanding of why exactly this is.

The condition is the most common form of dementia, and it affected 5.8 million North Americans in 2020. As the population ages, the incidence is set to increase, and it is expected it is going to affect 14 million people by 2060 in the United States alone.

This means that discovering the reasons behind why and how Alzheimer’s develops is increasingly important so that researchers can set new drug targets and doctors can make early interventions.

Researchers have identified some genetic variants that are linked to an increased or decreased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, including some that only exist in females. (…)