Second X chromosome may offer resilience to Alzheimer’s in mice

Researchers from the University of California San Francisco (CA, USA) have studied how sex chromosomes affect vulnerability to Alzheimer’s. The scientists noted that females with Alzheimer’s live longer than males with the disease and this could be due to the genetic protection protein, KDM6A, which is only present on the X chromosome. As females have two X chromosomes, they have double the number of genes that code for KDM6A. The findings of the study, which were published in Science Translational Medicine, help to explain why females with Alzheimer’s survive for longer with fewer symptoms during the early stages of the...