Sex and age interact to determine clinicopathologic differences in Alzheimer ’s disease

AbstractWomen reportedly make up two-thirds of Alzheimer ’s disease (AD) dementia sufferers. Many estimates regarding AD, however, are based on clinical series lacking autopsy confirmation. The Florida Autopsied Multi-Ethnic (FLAME) cohort was queried for AD cases with a total of 1625 identified ranging in age from 53 to 102 years at death. Standard ne uropathologic procedures were employed and clinical information was retrospectively collected. Clinicopathologic and genetic data (MAPT andAPOE) were stratified by sex. Within the neuropathologically diagnosed AD cohort, the overall number of women and men did not differ. Men were younger at onset of cognitive symptoms, had a shorter disease duration, and more often had atypical (non-amnestic) clinical presentations. The frequency of autopsy-confirmed AD among women and men stratified by age at death revealed an inverse U-shaped curve in men and a U-shaped curve in women, with both curves having inflections at approximately 70  years of age. Regional counts of neurofibrillary tangles differed in women and men, especially when examined by age intervals. Women had overall greater severity of neurofibrillary tangle counts compared to men, especially in the hippocampus. Men were more often classified as hippocampal sparing A D, whereas limbic predominant AD was more common in women. Men and women did not differ in frequency ofMAPT haplotype orAPOE genotype. Atypical clinical presentations, younger age at onset and shorter disea...
Source: Acta Neuropathologica - Category: Neurology Source Type: research