A study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago showed that there are differences in the presentation and mechanism of action of cognitive impairment (an early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease) in male and female patients. When people suffer from cognitive impairment, their brains shrink.
Researchers who scanned the brains of 109 patients newly diagnosed with cognitive impairment found that women’s brains shrink earlier than men’s. In the year before a definitive diagnosis, women lost more gray matter in their brains compared to their male counterparts. And male patients are more likely to have more problems with thinking skills. In addition, the gray matter lost by male and female patients was located in different areas of the brain.
The study leader concluded that the loss of hippocampal volume is generally consistent with a decline in cognitive function, but this is more accurate for the male patients. The hippocampus is the part of the brain responsible for memory formation, organization and storage. Thus, memory loss is more pronounced in men with cognitive impairment.