Alzheimer’s disease occurs more severely and more quickly in women than in men due to a molecular mechanism that leads to the deterioration of DNA fragments in their brains. This was discovered by Israeli researchers.
- An Israeli study has revealed a cause of accelerated cognitive decline in women with Alzheimer’s disease.
- According to the researchers, a molecular mechanism in the brains of women explains the rapid deterioration of their cognitive parameters compared to men.
- This breakthrough in research portends an advance in the technique of treatments to delay the symptoms of the disease, which currently cause side effects that are more difficult to bear for women compared to those for men.
Men and women are not equal when it comes to Alzheimer’s disease. Indeed, this serious degenerative condition which constitutes the leading cause of dementia leads to an accelerated decline in cognitive function in women. Israeli researchers may have found an explanation: a study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association indeed highlights the role of a particular molecular mechanism in the brain of women, which would be involved.
DNA fragments worsen Alzheimer’s disease in women
According to the researchers, the deterioration of cognitive functions does not come from a particular brain structure in women but from the severe depletion of DNA fragments in the brain nuclei affected by the disease, and which are provided by the mother. , can we read in The Jerusalem Post.
The reservoirs of DNA fragments come from mitochondriaorganelles essential to the functioning of the body since they generate most of the chemical energy necessary for the biochemical reactions of cells.
This is the first time that it has been discovered that there is a direct relationship between a family of tiny DNA fragments and the rate of development of the disease in women. Indeed, if it was known for a long time that dementia is more frequent and more powerful in women than in men, the causes had remained unknown.
Alzheimer’s: Towards a more effective DNA-based therapy?
This discovery is therefore an important breakthrough in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease:
“Our research makes a significant contribution to the existing body of Alzheimer’s disease research by uncovering new insights into the factors that lead to accelerated cognitive decline in women, highlighting crucial distinctions not only in disease progression, but also in response to treatment,” explained Professor Hermona Soreq, a specialist in brain genes and one of the authors of the study. Indeed, currently, current therapeutic protocols not only aim to delay the progression of symptoms, but they cause side effects. more severe in women.
These findings further have implications for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms with DNA-based therapies, which have emerged in recent years, notably through research against Covid-19, and are now an option. viable.
Researchers hope that the development of these treatments will lead to improved medical care for Alzheimer’s disease in order to treat patients, especially women, optimally.
