Neurology AdvisorEAN: Do Women With Parkinson Disease Have Higher Risk for Alzheimer Pathology?

ℹ️ Observational Association Only Evidence

Women with Parkinson disease demonstrated a greater burden of Alzheimer disease-related amyloid plaque pathology than men in an autopsy-confirmed cohort of 230 patients with PD. Despite higher amyloid burden, investigators found no significant differences in dementia rates or cognitive performance between sexes.

Clinical Considerations

• Women had higher mean cortical plaque scores (6.5 vs 4.9) and greater neuritic plaque density than men.
• A higher proportion of women demonstrated substantial amyloid burden (56.8% vs 39.7%) based on cortical plaque scores.
• Female sex remained independently associated with elevated amyloid pathology after adjustment for APOE ε4 status and age.
• Greater neuropathologic burden was not associated with differences in Alzheimer dementia prevalence or cognitive testing outcomes.

Practice Applications

• Recognize sex-related differences in neuropathology as an emerging area of investigation.
• Interpret amyloid plaque burden separately from observed clinical cognitive outcomes.
• Consider biological sex when evaluating future Parkinson disease biomarker research.
• Monitor larger clinicopathologic studies examining mechanisms linking Parkinson and Alzheimer pathology.