In a cross-sectional neuroimaging study of 503 cognitively unimpaired adults aged 60 to 69 years, women had greater amyloid-β plaque burden and higher tau deposition across intermediate and advanced Braak stages than men, alongside thicker Alzheimer disease signature cortical regions; these sex differences persisted after adjustment for age, race and ethnicity, educational level, apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 status, and vascular risk factors, and tau burden disparities were especially pronounced among apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 carriers, suggesting distinct patterns of Alzheimer pathology and preserved structural integrity in women compared with men.

Source: JAMA Network Open