New research grant will fund studies on sex differences in Alzheimer's disease

The Sex and Gender in Alzheimer’s grant initiative, a new research grant from the Alzheimer’s Association, will award $2.2 million to nine projects exploring differences in Alzheimer’s disease between men and women.

“Research showed us how women experience heart disease differently from men. We need to look at Alzheimer’s in a similar way. If we can better understand the disease processes and progression in men and women, we have an opportunity to tailor how we approach detection, diagnosis, and therapeutic approaches based on sex,” Maria Carrillo, PhD, chief science officer of the Alzheimer’s Association, said in a press release. “As a core part of this discussion, we must explore fundamental differences in biological characteristics and lifestyle factors between the sexes that may play a role to the disproportionate impact on women.”

Maria Carrillo

Grant recipients include:

Terrence Christopher Town, PhD, of the University of Southern California, for a study of sex differences in brain structure and hormonal changes during aging and their association with Alzheimer’s disease;
Natalie Rasgon , MD, PhD, of Stanford University, for a study on risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease in men and women and overall risk for brain changes associated with the disease;
Victoria S. Pelak , MD, of the University of Colorado, Denver, who will assess if testosterone can promote healthy brain function and reduce risk for Alzheimer’s disease;
Roberta Diaz Brinton, PhD, of the University of Arizona Health Sciences, whose study will assess the potential of allopregnanolone for prevention of myelin loss;
Karyn M. Frick, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, for a study on associations between sex, estrogen levels and genetics and changes in the brain, nerve cell communication and cognitive function;
John R. Cirrito , PhD, of Washington University at St. Louis, who will assess how stress-related hormones contribute to dementia-related brain changes;
Elvira De Leonibus , PhD, of the Fondazion Telethon in Naples, Italy, who will compare sex differences in short-term memory capacity;
P. Hemacandra Reddy, PhD, of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, whose study will assess women’s increased risk for depression and Alzheimer’s disease; and
Christian J. Pike, PhD, of the University of Southern California, for a study on the impact of natural gene variations associated with Alzheimer’s disease on brain inflammation and risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Each of the projects will receive approximately $250,000.

“The link between sex and Alzheimer’s is complex and likely due to multiple factors. Discovering those factors and translating those discoveries into therapy is critical,” Roberta Brinton, PhD, of the University of Arizona Health Sciences, said in the release. “With SAGA, there is a potential for discovery that could open a whole new world in terms of how we treat people with dementia in the physician's office. There is also an opportunity to improve the way we test new therapies. By better understanding how the disease progresses differently in men and women, we can adjust treatment and the ways we measure effectiveness to be more precise. This could lead to potentially better, more successful clinical trials.”