Despite more women developing dementia than men, men are at higher risk of developing pre-dementia memory loss, a new study has found.
Experts hope the findings, published in the Archives of Neurology, may lead to developments in the prevention of the disease.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic studied almost 1,500 men and women between the ages of 70 and 89 over a three-year period.
It was found that 72 in every 1,000 men developed mild cognitive impairment (MCI) compared to 57 per 1,000 women.
People with MCI usually have impaired memory but no impairments in other areas of brain function, such as planning or attention, and no significant problems in everyday living. However, MCI sufferers are at an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.
A number of factors that may have skewed the results of the study, such as age, education and marital status, were taken into account. For instance, those who were not married or were less educated were at greater risk. But gender was found to reveal the most marked difference.
Scientists say the next step is to investigate how and why men may be more resilient to dementia than women.
One theory is that women have a longer life expectancy than men therefore men are less likely to reach an age when their dementia will become more advanced.
Dr Anne Corbett, Research Manager of the Alzheimer’s Society said: “Increasing our understanding of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) could help us unravel the many mysteries still surrounding Alzheimer’s disease and move us closer to treatments and a cure.
"This exciting research adds to previous evidence that men could be more susceptible to MCI than women. However we now need further research into why this is the case.”
Corbett calls for more money to be ploughed into this underfunded field of research.
“One in three people over 65 will die with dementia and by 2021 there will be over a million people in the UK with the condition. Yet dementia research remains drastically underfunded.
“Only through more research can we find out more about MCI and its relationship with Alzheimer's disease. We must invest now.”
Dr Marie Janson, of Alzheimer's Research, UK said: "These surprising results suggest that men may be at greater risk for MCI (mild cognitive impairment) despite having a lower risk for dementia, and it will be important to see whether further studies can replicate these findings.
"A key goal for research is to identify why some people with MCI develop dementia while others don't. If we can understand why some people have a greater risk for cognitive decline and dementia, we stand a better chance of being able to prevent the condition.
"With 820,000 people affected by dementia, and a rapidly ageing population, the need for research to find new ways to treat and prevent the condition has never been more urgent."
Study leader Dr Rosebud Roberts, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, said “These results are surprising, given that women generally have higher rates of dementia than men.
“The risk of MCI in men and women combined was high in this age group of elderly persons.
“This is disturbing given that people are living longer, and that MCI may have a large impact on health care costs if increased efforts at prevention are not used to reduce the risk.”
The only way to detect Alzheimer’s early at present is through a painful procedure involving the extraction of small amounts of cerebrospinal fluid from the spine. However, the Press Association reports that scientists are now developing a blood test screening to detect the disease, after Spanish researchers discovered that remnants of amyloid beta, a protein linked to brain disease, are detectable in the blood.
In a third study offering hope for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, scientists have successfully created artificial Alzheimer’s cells for the first time, providing an invaluable research tool for the scientists, the Press Association reports.