Why do women have Alzheimer's disease more than men?

Recent studies of Alzheimer's disease have shown that the incidence of this disease in women is often higher than that of men, a disease related to neurodegeneration, leading to dementia.

Years ago, scientists thought that the hearts of women and the hearts of men had the same frequency of work throughout their lives, however, when conducting more in-depth research on the cardiovascular field at Women, these ideas gradually changed, resulting in more positive results in cardiovascular research and treatment, similarly to Alzheimer's disease.

There are about 5 million people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in the United States, of which two-thirds are women.One of the biggest factors associated with getting it is age (older age, the greater the risk of Alzheimer's), so scientists have measured the age difference between men. gender and women. Accordingly, the average life expectancy (in the US) of women is 81, while men are 76. "After including age factor, women are more at risk (Alzheimer's disease)" , that is to receive by Dr. Richard Lipton, head of the research team at Albert Einstein Medical University in New York.

It is expected that by 2050, the number of Alzheimer's cases in the US will triple compared to today (about 15 million cases), so many scientists are calling for the focus of resources on why the study women have a higher incidence of disease, and find therapies to treat the disease.

According to Dr. Richard Lipton, between 70 and 79 years of age, women are at risk of developing Alzheimer's or twice as many dementia-related conditions as men. When the age of 80 reaches the end of life, the ratio between men and women is said to be the same.

Normal brain (left) and brain with Alzheimer's

The difference in risk of cardiovascular disease may explain part of the reason for the difference. At the age of 70, men have a higher risk of contracting and dying from cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure or diabetes than women, these diseases appear before they develop Alzheimer's disease. Without heart disease, this means that the heart and blood pressure systems of men are strong enough to help them stay healthy, but a healthy heart involves more stable health, preventing memory loss.

There are a number of other theories, such as education and careers, that also explain why. It is thought that people with higher levels of education are also at lower risk of getting Alzheimer's, and of course, in the last century, the rate of male learning was much higher than that of women. Another reason to be considered is depression and stress that directly affects Alzheimer's, because women are more likely to be depressed than men.

According to a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry last year, women are 70% more likely to be depressed than men in their lives, and this is considered a link to birth. memory loss when you get old.

In addition, it has been reported that about 20% of the world's population carry the gene APOe4 , a gene that helps produce proteins in the liver to convert cholesterol and fatty acids in the body. The ratio between men and women with this gene in humans is the same. However, if someone has two APOe4 genes in their bodies, they are 10 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's.

Subsequently, a recent study by Dr. Michael Greicius of Stanford University of Medicine also showed that if women carry the APOe4 gene in their bodies, they are twice as likely to suffer from Alzheimer's compared to women. there's this gene. Meanwhile, there is little evidence that men with the APOe4 gene are at a higher risk of Alzheimer's than those without this gene.

"We found that women with the APOe4 gene will have a higher incidence of Alzheimer's than people without this gene at the same age," said Professor Walter A. Rocca at Mayo Hospital. It is unclear why, but it is possible that APOe4 is directly related to estrogen (a female hormone), which is one of the causes of Alzheimer's.

Estrogen is a type of female sex hormone, produced in the ovaries of women, plays an important role in controlling the sex of women as well as promoting sexual and reproductive life. Estrogen also plays an important role in brain metabolism. It is for this reason that Professor Roberta Diaz Brinton of the University of Southern California convinces her to study the relationship between estrogen and Alzheimer's in women. She calls estrogen "Queen of Darwin".

Brinton hypothesized that at menopause, estrogen in women dropped sharply, causing chain effects . At this time, the female body lacks the ability to burn glucose to produce energy for the body. When the body lacks energy, the body forces the brain to use other energy reserves. The source of stored energy helps the nervous system continue to function, but the brain pays a much more expensive price. This does not cause damage to brain cells, but it is similar to the cause of Type 2 diabetes, producing a risk of Alzheimer's disease in women.

"This is like burning rubber tires to get fire instead of using propane (CH ₃ CH ₂ CH ₃ ), we have heat but also produce many other toxic things from high tire burning. su ".

In short, estrogen is a leading concern for scientists in studying Alzheimer's disease in women. It was also found that the incidence of Alzheimer's in women would be higher for those who had surgery to remove the ovaries. A 2012 study suggested that estrogen therapy in women's menopause may help reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. In the first 5 years of menopause, if women receive hormone estrogen therapy, they may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. If they start therapy only from the 6th year on, the risk of Alzheimer's will not decrease. .

From using complex simulations on computers, scientists are investigating the gender difference in Alzheimer's disease. In women with Alzheimer's, cells have less ability to copy and produce protein, especially in the body's metabolism.

"Women and men have different hormonal environments, and that difference may be a cause for studying the difference in Alzheimer's disease rates." Dr. Quackenbush said.