Why more women are needed for dementia research

Women women get dementia more often and earlier than men: one in three women get dementia, compared to one in seven men. Despite dementia having been around for a long time and becoming more common, no effective medicine has yet been found for women with dementia. This is in significant part because drugs are usually not developed gender-specifically and because too few women participate in drug research.

To help make a change FemTrials seeks women to take part in studies and trials to enable science to find effective solutions to help prevent and cure dementia.

Research on differences between women and men

Women in particular are underrepresented in drug trials. This while the disease may have different consequences and causes for women. Thus, much remains unknown and the key to success is not found in this way.
There is still too little attention to gender-specific differences in scientific research and drug research. Also in other diseases, more and more is known about the different course between men and women. So far, the differences found in dementia are often subtle, and due to the lack of research on gender differences, not everything is certain yet. Nevertheless, interesting differences have already been found.

Women deteriorate faster

On average, women’s health deteriorates faster than men’s. The reason for this is still unknown; this needs further scientific research. Possibly, on average, women are diagnosed later. As a result, the damage in the brain tends to be more severe and women enter a nursing home sooner after diagnosis. But other differences could also be a cause, as there are many differences between men and women that can also affect dementia. Major hormonal differences and, for example, the presence of other diseases such as cardiovascular disease, differences in the immune system and differences in the amount of natural protective substances in the brain.

Behavioural changes in women more severe

In women, depression, withdrawn behaviour, emotional lability and delusions seem to be more common than average. In men, symptoms such as lethargy, agitation, violence and socially inappropriate behaviour seem to be more common as a result of the disease. In women, behavioural changes seem to be more frequent and more severe than in men.

Not enough women for scientific research

Researchers can stop dementia, but only if there is more research. Together, we can make that possible.

There are more than twice as many women as men with dementia. However, women are also getting older than men. This largely explains the difference. Women, far more often than men, go through dementia alone. The higher life expectancy means that a woman’s partner is more likely to be deceased when she develops dementia. Naturally, this affects the support provided by informal carers. In addition, people without a closely involved informal carer do not participate, or participate less, in scientific research. Many drug studies even exclude people without an involved loved one. This results in (medicine) studies being done on people with different characteristics than the average group of people with dementia. For instance, medicine studies often involve younger people and have a roughly equal male-female ratio. A possible consequence is, for instance, that the side effects of a medicine are less noticeable.

More research desperately needed

The differences found between men and women in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, disease progression and medication use are often small. But they are there and together may play a bigger role than expected. It is therefore important to pay much more attention to gender differences in scientific and drug research. FemTrials is fighting for this and it is badly needed, because so far it is very difficult to find drugs against dementia. Researchers say that by taking into account traits such as genetics, age, as well as gender, we may be able to develop drugs for the individual. And eventually prevent or cure dementia. So more research is badly needed. And especially more female participants in these studies is needed to eventually stop dementia.

Therefore, please subscribe to FemTrials and help our and our research partners in one or more dementia studies or trials.