Women Are Almost Twice As Likely To Get Alzheimer’s, And New Research Might Shine A Light On Why
The study found that dementia was linked to hormone changes in women, including pregnancy.
Los Angeles Times:
How Pregnancy And Childbirth May Protect Some Women From Developing Dementia
Women make up some 60% of Alzheimer’s disease patients in the United States, and over her lifetime, a woman is almost twice as likely than a man to develop the memory-robbing condition. New research offers tantalizing clues as to why that might be, suggesting that either hormonal influences or pregnancy-related changes in the immune system – or both -- may nudge a woman’s risk for dementia in one direction or the other. (Healy, 7/23)
In other public health news —
KQED:
California Will Pay You To Get High For Driving Study
To address the problem, the California legislature is funding a UC San Diego study that will determine how pot affects driving performance and how soon after smoking pot is it safe to drive. Researchers are recruiting 180 people for the study, which will consist of having participants smoke varying amounts of marijuana or a placebo and then participate in driving simulations and cognitive tests. (Ahmed, 7/23)