Did you know that a tiny change in your genes can make a big difference? 🧬
Scientists in Australia have found that men who have two copies of a common gene variant are more than twice as likely to develop dementia when they get older. But guess what? Women with the same gene variant don’t have this increased risk!
So what’s going on here?
The gene they’re talking about is called the HFE gene, and it’s like a helper that controls how much iron is in your body. Iron isn’t just for making strong muscles; it’s also important for your brain. But too much iron might not be a good thing.
In this study, the researchers looked at over 19,000 people in a big project called the ASPREE trial, which studies healthy aging. They found that while lots of people have one copy of this gene variant (called H63D) and are just fine, about 1 in every 36 people have two copies.
For men with two copies, the risk of getting dementia was more than double! 😲
But for women, having two copies didn’t seem to make a difference.
Professor John Olynyk, one of the scientists, said that while we can’t change our genes, understanding how they affect our brains might help us find new ways to treat or even prevent dementia.
Right now, over 400,000 people in Australia live with dementia, and a third of them are men.
This discovery is important because it might help doctors create special prevention strategies for men who carry this gene variant.
Reference(s):
Iron-related gene variant tied to higher dementia risk in men: study
cgtn.com
