On July 15th, Healthday.com featured comments by 2000 Beeson Scholar Dr. Reisa Sperling on new research showing differences in the patterns of Alzheimer’s disease development among African American and Caucasian individuals.
Researchers found that among those deceased due to Alzheimer’s disease, only 20 percent of African American individuals exhibited typical Alzheimer’s, as compared to 41 percent of whites. Dr. Sperling, is currently working on improving racial disparities among clinical trial participants , and notes that while this finding may offer insight into why African Americans are two-times for likely than white Americans to develop Alzheimer’s disease, more research is needed to determine when these brain changes begin.
This article was also picked up by US News and World Reports; Philly.com; and Newsmax Health.
Reisa Sperling, MD, MMSc, is the Director, Center for Alzheimer's Research and Treatment & Co-Director, Neuroimaging Core at the Massachusetts Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and a Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School.
For more information on the genetics behind Alzheimer’s disease, download our InfoAging guide here.
