Sex biology contributions to vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease: A think tank convened by the Women's Alzheimer's Research Initiative

Heather M Snyder; Sanjay Asthana; Lisa Bain; Roberta Brinton; Suzanne Craft; Dena B Dubal; Mark A Espeland; Margaret Gatz; Michelle M Mielke; Jacob Raber; Peter R Rapp; Kristine Yaffe; Maria C Carrillo

doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2016.08.004

Sex biology contributions to vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease: A think tank convened by the Women's Alzheimer's Research Initiative

Alzheimers Dement. 2016 Nov;12(11):1186-1196. doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2016.08.004. Epub 2016 Sep 27.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Medical & Scientific Relations, Alzheimer's Association, Chicago, IL, USA. Electronic address: hsnyder@alz.org.
² Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Madison, WI, USA.
³ Independent Science Writer, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁴ Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁵ Department of Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
⁶ Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁷ Department of Biostatistical Science, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
⁸ Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁹ Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health Sciences Research and Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
¹⁰ Departments of Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurology, and Radiation Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA; Division of Neuroscience, ONPRC, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
¹¹ Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurocognitive Aging Section, National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD, USA.
¹² Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
¹³ Division of Medical & Scientific Relations, Alzheimer's Association, Chicago, IL, USA.

Abstract

More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) today, and nearly two-thirds of Americans with AD are women. This sex difference may be due to the higher longevity women generally experience; however, increasing evidence suggests that longevity alone is not a sufficient explanation and there may be other factors at play. The Alzheimer's Association convened an expert think tank to focus on the state of the science and level of evidence around gender and biological sex differences for AD, including the knowledge gaps and areas of science that need to be more fully addressed. This article summarizes the think tank discussion, moving forward a research agenda and funding program to better understand the biological underpinnings of sex- and gender-related disparities of risk for AD.

Keywords: APOE; Alzheimer's disease; Estrogen; Hormones; Neurodegeneration; Risk factors; Sex biology; Women.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Alzheimer Disease / epidemiology*
Alzheimer Disease / genetics
Alzheimer Disease / physiopathology*
Disease Susceptibility / physiopathology*
Female
Humans
Risk Factors
Sex Characteristics*
Sex Factors
Societies, Scientific

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding