Relative risk of Alzheimer's between men and women: Record corrected
The findings from one of the world's largest big-data studies on Alzheimer's counter long-held beliefs about who is at greatest risk for the disease and when, suggesting new avenues for clinical trials. Study results show genetically vulnerable 55- to 85-year-old white men and women have the same odds of developing the memory-erasing disease. One exception: From their mid-60s to mid-70s, these women still face significantly higher risk. That may provide clues to disease causes and potential interventions among these women. "Our discovery is important because it highlights how clinical trials could be weighted toward women -- a susceptible part of the population -- to help scientists more rapidly identify effective drug interventions to slow or cure Alzheimer's," said Arthur Toga, director of the USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute at the Keck School of Medicine -- among the nation's leaders in innovative scientific discovery. The study...