Alzheimer's Disease May Develop Differently in African Americans, Study Suggests

A study published in JAMA Neurology implies that African Americans' greater susceptibility to developing Alzheimer's compared to white Americans could be partly explained by racially disparate biological mechanisms, reports National Public Radio . The researchers used data from 1,255 black and white people, and found the cerebrospinal fluid from African Americans often had lower levels of a substance associated with Alzheimer's, although these lower levels did not appear to shield African American participants from the disease. Analysis determined neither black nor white participants differed in terms of the buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain, but the accumulations of tau proteins were notably different between races. Spinal fluid from African Americans had lower tau protein levels, and this factor was most pronounced among those who carried the APOE4 gene.