They explain why women are more affected by Alzheimer's disease.

Mouse study reveals how female X Chromosome drives brain inflammation and identifies diabetes drug as diabetes treatment

They explain why women are more prone to Alzheimer's disease

A mouse study reveals how double X chromosomes in women promote brain inflammation and identifies a diabetes drug as a potential treatment

This is why women are more likely to get Alzheimer's than men

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Alzheimer's disease is more common in women: about two in three people with the disease are women.Women are almost twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and also live longer with the disease.For years, this overwhelming difference... was attributed to a simple and seemingly logical explanation: women live longer on average.However, modern science has dismantled this argument and shown that longevity, while it plays a role, is not the only explanation for this reality.

The answer lies in the complex interaction between biology, genetics and "life transitions" peculiar to the female sex.This is due to a combination of biological factors such as hormonal changes associated with menopause, genetics, lifestyle, and social factors such as healthcare providers.

Now, research from the University of California, Los Angeles (USA) has gone further by identifying a gene linked to the sex chromosome that drives inflammation in the female brain.This finding, written in the journal "Science Translational Medicine", offers information on why women are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer's or, also, multiple sclerosis.

The team identified a gene on the X chromosome called Kdm6a that causes inflammation in the brain's immune cells (microglia) in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis.Because women have two X chromosomes, they receive a "double dose" of this inflammation, which contributes to aging, Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis.

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Using the gene and its associated protein, researchers have observed significant improvements in disease and neurology in women's disease.

"Gender differences in the brain have long been known to have implications for neurological health and disease," said Rhonda Vascoll, director of the Multiple Sclerosis Program at UCLA Health and lead author of the study.

"Multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease affect women more than women," Voskol explained. "In addition, two-thirds of healthy women experience mental confusion during menopause. These new findings explain why this happens and lead to new treatments to address this problem."

When the scientists inhibited the KDM6A gene in immune cells, an inflammatory molecule that switched from an active state to a resting state, they also found that metformin, a common anti-aging drug, also inhibited the gene's protein.

"It's a case of having two copies of an X-linked gene, so there are a lot of factors that need to be blocked in women," Voskuhl said, explaining why women are more likely than men to have it."There is this clinical effect. Men may respond differently to metformin treatment than men.

In addition, Voskul believes that the search may also have an effect to clarify the association with mental fog in healthy women during menopause.

«Los cromosomas y las hormonas sexuales alcanzan un equilibrio a través de la evolución. Existe un sesgo selectivo para lograrlo. Las mujeres tienen un equilibrio entre la inflamación impulsada por el cromosoma X, que puede ser beneficiosa para combatir infecciones en edad fértil. Esto se mantiene bajo control gracias al estrógeno, que es antiinflamatorio y neuroprotector. A medida que las mujeres envejecen, la menopausia provoca la pérdida de estrógeno, lo que desencadena los efectos proinflamatorios y neurodegenerativos de este cromosoma X, la célula inmunitaria cerebral», explica

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