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Sex differences in the neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease: focus on cognitively intact elderly individuals
Author(s) -
Hu YuTing,
Boonstra Jackson,
McGurran Hugo,
Stormmesand Jochem,
Sluiter Arja,
Balesar Rawien,
Verwer Ronald,
Swaab Dick,
Bao AiMin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
neuropathology and applied neurobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.538
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1365-2990
pISSN - 0305-1846
DOI - 10.1111/nan.12729
Subject(s) - entorhinal cortex , alzheimer's disease , psychology , dementia , hippocampus , disease , neuropathology , sex characteristics , medicine , neuroscience
Aims Women are more vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease (AD) than men. We investigated (i) whether and at what age the AD hallmarks, that is, β‐amyloid (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated Tau (p‐Tau) show sex differences; and (ii) whether such sex differences may occur in cognitively intact elderly individuals. Methods We first analysed the entire post‐mortem brain collection of all non‐demented ‘controls’ and AD donors from our Brain Bank (245 men and 403 women), for the presence of sex differences in AD hallmarks. Second, we quantitatively studied possible sex differences in Aβ, Aβ42 and p‐Tau in the entorhinal cortex of well‐matched female (n = 31) and male (n = 21) clinically cognitively intact elderly individuals. Results Women had significantly higher Braak stages for tangles and amyloid scores than men, after 80 years. In the cognitively intact elderly, women showed higher levels of p‐Tau, but not Aβ or Aβ42, in the entorhinal cortex than men, and a significant interaction of sex with age was found only for p‐Tau but not Aβ or Aβ42. Conclusions Enhanced p‐Tau in the entorhinal cortex may play a major role in the vulnerability to AD in women.