UC Davis Alzheimer’s Center has found dramatic differences in the brains of Hispanic, non-Hispanic whites and African-Americans who have been diagnosed with dementia.
UC Davis Study On Dementia
Study Finds Dramatic Differences Between Brains
According to a major new study, The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) Alzheimer’s Center has found dramatic differences in the brains of Hispanic, non-Hispanic whites and African-Americans who have been diagnosed with dementia.
The study conducted an extensive analysis of autopsied brains that found Hispanics diagnosed with dementia were much more likely to have cerebrovascular disease than either non-Hispanic whites or African-Americans. Researchers discovered that Hispanics and African-Americans tend to have mixed pathologies (a combination of Alzheimer’s disease and cerebrovascular disease) than non-Hispanic whites while non-Hispanic whites tend to have more pure Alzheimer’s disease than either Hispanics or African-Americans.
The study can help examine the higher rates of dementia among blacks and Hispanics and the importance of treating each patient based on their individual risk factors.
“If you are Latino and diabetic or black and hypertensive, you are probably at higher risk for dementia and these risks should be addressed aggressively,” said Charles DeCarli, director of the Alzheimer’s disease Center and principal investigator on the study. “It’s a way to tailor our approach to the individual, and it’s something we want to do as early as possible.”
Researchers analyzed brain tissue from 423 people (360 non-Hispanic whites, 35 blacks and 28 Hispanics) that died after a dementia diagnosis. They concluded that factors including cultural, social, economic and/or behavioral influences can have an impact on the differences.
Read more at https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/dementia-looks-different-brains-latinos
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