- Alzheimer’s disease is more prevalent in women than in men, with women accounting for more than two-thirds of all dementia cases.
- Studies have shown that the early onset of menopause before the age of 45 years and starting hormone therapy late after menopause are associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
- A new study suggests that women, compared to men, showed higher levels of tau deposits in the brain that may contribute to the increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Women undergoing menopause at a younger age and initiating hormone therapy at a later age were especially susceptible to showing greater tau levels in the brain, potentially exacerbating the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in this group of women.
Previous studies have shown that younger age at menopause and late initiation of hormone therapy after menopause onset can increase the risk of dementia. However, the impact of age at menopause and hormone therapy on the accumulation of β-amyloid and tau proteins, which are considered to underlie Alzheimer’s disease development, is not well understood.
A recent study published in
Speaking to Medical News Today, the study’s author Dr. Rachel Buckley, a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, said the study was “one of the first to report a link between women’s age at menopause and tau in the brain.”
“We found that in multiple areas of the brain that tend to be most likely to show higher tau in women than men, women with earlier age at menopause and elevated levels of amyloid showed higher levels of tau than those who reported an average age at menopause (~50 years in the United States). Women who reported premature menopause (<40 years at menopause onset) exhibited a much higher risk of tau in the…
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