Some interesting Alzheimers news came out the other day (Mayo Clinic) that showed a gene carried by women was associated with late onset Alzheimer’s.
Published in the Journal of Natural Genetics, the study identified a gene variant called PCDH11X (catchy names these guys use) that was apparently very closely linked to a higher risk for alzheimers in women.If either a male or female carried only one of these genes (from one parent) then there was no apparent relationship between the gene and
dementia.
But women who carried the gene from both parents were significantly more likely to get early onset Alzheimer’s.In practical terms, this tells us that there may very well be a genetic factor involved in whether you develop the disease or not.
There is no treatment suggested by this finding but it does lead to more understanding of the problem.Given that 2/3 of all Alzheime’s patients are women, this may be
significant. Having said that, women also live longer so have more of a chance to develop the disease.
Bottom line
Interesting bit of Alzheimers news but nothing we can do much about at this time.