Working three full -time jobs, raising children and taking care of her flourishing garden: Angeleta Cox says that her mother, Sonia Elizabeth Cox, never decreased speed all her life.
Then, at the age of 64, a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s hit the brakes of vibrant life that he built carefully after emigrating to Canada from Jamaica in 1985.
“The beginning of the symptoms was very fast,” Cox said about his mother.
“She forgot my father first, and could not respond to my brother, so I became a service provider for her,” Cox said. Sonia Elizabeth died at the end of last year, after years of fighting Alzheimer’s.
More women are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease than men. In developed countries, studies suggest Around two thirds of people with Alzheimer’s are women. It is also a pattern seen in Canada, where women represent almost two thirds of people with dementia, according to the last count of Canada Statistics.
The scientists explained for a long time with a simple demographic fact: women tend to live longer, and age is a strong risk factor for dementia development.
But that understanding is now changing.
While age is still considered an important risk, scientists are increasingly noticed with other aspects, both biological and sociological, can play an important role in making women susceptible to Alzheimer’s development.
Early menopause under 40 could increase the risk of women being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, according to several recent studies. The disease disproportionately affects women about men, and scientists say that more research on causes should be done.
“I think we are beginning to be at a turning point,” said Gillian Einstein, who studies how sex and gender can influence the risk of an individual to develop dementia, as part of the Canadian consortium on degeneration and aging.
“I think you can feel it here,” he said, making a gesture at the Toronto Metro Convention Center, where Alzheimer’s leading researchers met for the Annual International Conference of the Alzheimer’s Association (AAIC) at the end of July.
“There are many more sessions about sex differences or women’s health.”
Hormones, babies and menopause
Alzheimer’s disease is more common way of dementia in the world, according to the World Health Organization. It causes symptoms such as memory loss, confusion and personality changes. In Canada, Alzheimer’s is also the ninth main cause of death, According to Statistics Canada.
A factor that scientists now know: the moment of key hormonal changes, such as when women first get their periods, how long they are fertile and the age at which they reach menopause.
“There are many studies in the Biobanco of the United Kingdom, for example, that show that the longer reproduction is [period] Women have, the lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease of late life. Having [one to] Three children also seem to reduce Alzheimer’s risk, “Einstein said, referring to a large database that contains the health and genetic information of 500,000 volunteers.
Premature menopause, which occurs before the age of 40, and early menopause (between the ages of 40 and 44) are also key risk factors, said Dr. Walter Rocca, who studies the differences in the way in which men and women grow old at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
“Therefore, these women should be properly treated to avoid this hormone deficiency,” said Rocca, who presented research on the subject at the AAIC conference.
How that treatment looks like could vary widely, Rocca said, depending on the patient, as well as the cost and availability of the medication. Some main treatment approaches include pills, patches, gels and creams that contain hormonal estrogen, which have been shown to have neuroprotective effects but naturally decreases during menopause.
The risk of cognitive deterioration with early or premature menopause exists whether menopause occurred naturally or caused by their ovaries that are eliminated, says Einstein.
She pointed out A study She was co -author, who analyzed data from more than 34,000 women from the United Kingdom biobanco.
“Women who removed the ovaries before the age of 50 will also have a higher risk of Alzheimer’s,” he said.
More inclusive research
Researchers update, when it comes to understanding the risk of women for Alzheimer’s, says Natasha Rajah, a Canada Level 1 research president in sex, gender and diversity in brain health, memory and aging at the Metropolitan University of Toronto.
“Not only have we not been included in the investigation, but even in clinical trials, we are not represented,” he said.
“It makes no sense when you think this disease affects more women than men.”
She hopes to fill some of those blank spaces. It is currently carrying out the health of the Canadian brain in the middle age and the study of menopause (Bhamm), which seeks early signs of the disease through brain scan and blood samples in the middle age.
“We are trying to understand if menopause is a window in which some women could be showing early signs of Alzheimer’s disease,” he said.
If they are identifiable, those that show early signs of illness could receive treatment or alter their lifestyles at a better age, according to Rajah.
There is no cure for Alzheimer’s, but treatments include Drugs That can help control symptoms. Changes in lifestyle, such as physical exercise and a healthy diet for the brain. is shown to help Brain health in older adults at risk of cognitive impairment.
He also hopes to capture a more diverse population group in their research to better understand the risk factors associated with the race. Alzheimer’s research in Western countries such as the United States and Canada has not always been diverse, says Rajah.
“With the BHMM study, we are trying to communicate with as many communities as possible because we want to be more representative in our research.”
Different options
Looking back, Cox says that he now realizes that surgically induced menopause was a risk factor for his mother, that he had a complete hysterectomy after having fibroids in his 30 years.
Knowledge has led her to make different decisions for herself, such as reducing stress and caring for her mental health.
Now he is also aware of how his own hormones can interact with Alzheimer’s risk.
“When it was time to deal with my fibroids I had, I chose not to have a complete hysterectomy.”
He is also transmitting knowledge to his daughter, and shares it with other members of the black community that have been impacted by Alzheimer’s, through the Association of Pan -African Dementia. He expects researchers to discover more about risk factors for women who develop Alzheimer’s, so less women and families have to live what their mother did.
“When it affects women, it affects the whole family and the community,” he said.
