12 mar. 2025
Last week we celebrated International Women's Day, let's take a moment to reflect on the unique health challenges women face with this recent meta-analysis published in JAMA Neurology.
Women with high levels of ?-amyloid (A?) exhibit significantly faster tau accumulation than men, particularly in regions like the inferior temporal and temporal fusiform gyri and the lateral occipital cortex.
This large-scale study analyzed longitudinal tau-PET data from over 1,300 adults without cognitive impairment across 2.8 years, including the ADNI and Mayo Clinic Study of Aging.
In particular, the combination of abnormal A? and tau, is highly predictive of cognitive decline over 3 to 5 years among individuals without cognitive impairment, suggesting that women are at higher risk of decline than men.
Interestingly, female APOE?4 carriers also showed more rapid tau buildup compared to male carriers. These findings underscore the importance of considering sex differences when developing and administering anti-A? and anti-tau therapies.
Future studies are needed to understand when sex differences in tau deposits can be first detected and whether these first tau deposits are proximal to menopause, ultimately leading to questions - why women face nearly twice the risk of developing Alzheimer's - could help tailor future treatments and improve outcomes.