Researchers Still Wondering Why Women Are More Vulnerable to Alzheimer's

The Alzheimer's Association is set to take up research to uncover why women are more likely than men to develop the disease.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the Alzheimer's Association plans to begin funding research later this summer based on discussions that 15 leading experts in the field had last month, at the behest of the association.

Some of the questions that researchers felt needed answering include if genetics is entirely responsible for the added risk in women, if there is a biological difference in how women age and contributions of lifestyle factors to the risk among several questions.

The research will also investigate the accepted notion that women are more vulnerable because they live longer than men. Genetic studies have also shown a higher risk in women who carry a form of gene ApoE-4.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer's are women, and women are twice more likely than men to develop the condition. Alzheimer's is the six most common cause of death in the US.

According to CDC, around 5 million people Americans were living with Alzheimer's in 2013 and the number of people with disease nearly doubles every five years in people aged over 65 years. By 2050 there could be 13.8 million people suffering with the disease. Without a cure, the death rates among people with Alzheimer's increase when incidence of death caused by cancers or heart attacks is declining.