Do Women Have to Be More Concerned About Alzheimer's?

When women have reached that time in their lives which is between the 60's and 70's they may have to make some alterations to their lifestyle to accommodate their capabilities. Some find that they may have to adjust their eating patterns, and perhaps they no longer can function on six hours of sleep but now may need eight to feel well rested. The question, is this the only thing they need to be concerned about? is raised because of a new study that was conducted regarding Alzheimer's.

If this is all they need to be concerned about then life is good. However, new studies are beginning to show that some women in this age group may have to be concerned about developing Alzheimer's more than others.

This new finding is applicable to women who are predisposed genetically to Alzheimer's. The finding are a result of a study conducted by the University of Southern California Researchers.

TheRole of Genetics

Many people understand that genetics play a role in Alzheimer's but aren't quite sure how it really works. It can relate to genetic mutation or genetic variants.

Genetic mutation means that a permanent change has taken place in one of the genes in a person. A genetic variant can mean a variety of changes can take place in a gene and this can increase the risk of a person developing a disease.

The Analysis

The study carried out by the Researchers at Southern California University was by way of an analysis. This included a comprehensive study of a large volume of data. The findings indicated that there is about a ten year period where women in their mid sixties to seventies may be more prone to developing this disease if they are genetically predisposed to it. This time period of vulnerability is about ten years after menopause. While this is a big discovery it still doesn't answer the question as to why this may happen.

A Need for More Study

What the information has created is a need for studies of women to be conducted anywhere from ten to twenty years prior to this mid sixties to seventies time period to try and determine if there are any markers or signals that are present that would indicate the disease is eminent in future years.

What has been significant about this analysis is that it distinguishes that women are more at risk than the men in the same age group who also have the same genetic risk factors.

If these precursor studies were to be conducted the findings might allow scientists to develop new drugs that would at the very least slow down the progression of the disease or even better find a cure for it.

Although Alzheimer's is a disease that strikes both genders, some reports indicate that approximately out five million plus Americans that two thirds of the women are stricken with Alzheimer's.

Although this new information is based on an analysis, it shows how critically important data gathering is. The analysis was correlated with data that was collected through the health statuses of a combination of Europeans and North Americans. This totalled almost 58,000 statuses that were part of either GAAIN or the Interactive Network of the Global Alzheimer's Association.

The concept that women are more at risk for Alzheimer's is not a new one. In the past, it was perceived that this was the case merely because women tend to live longer than men.

While this study is but one piece of the puzzle, anything new that can be learned about this disease can only be positive towards the fight for eradicating it.