Women with Parkinson's disease may show more Alzheimer’s-related brain changes than men
(Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday, 28 June 2026) Women with Parkinson's disease may be more vulnerable to Alzheimer's-related changes in the brain than men, according to new research presented at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress 2026. 1
Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease frequently co-occur in older adults, 2 yet sex differences in Alzheimer's-related pathology among people with Parkinson's disease remain underexplored.
To address this knowledge gap, researchers from Mayo Clinic Arizona analysed data from 230 autopsy-confirmed Parkinson's disease cases enrolled in the Arizona Study of Aging and Neurodegenerative Disorders and Brain and Body Donation Program. Participants underwent annual clinical assessments during life and comprehensive neuropathological examinations after death.
The study found that women with Parkinson's disease had significantly greater amyloid plaque burden, a hallmark feature of Alzheimer's disease, than men. Female participants had higher mean cortical total plaque scores than males (6.5/15 versus 4.9/15; p=0.045) and greater neuritic plaque density (1.7/3 versus 1.3/3; p=0.035).
More than half of female participants (56.8%) had a high plaque burden compared with males (39.7%; p=0.015). Women remained more than twice as likely as men to have a high amyloid plaque burden even after adjusting for age at death and APOE ε4 3 , a major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (OR 2.18; 95% CI 1.17 – 4.06; p=0.014).
Lead author Dr Erika Driver-Dunckley of Mayo Clinic Arizona said: "These findings suggest that women may be more susceptible to amyloid-driven pathology in the context of Parkinson's disease, echoing patterns observed in clinically diagnosed and pathologically confirmed Alzheimer's disease subjects."
Despite the greater amyloid plaque burden observed in women, the study found no significant differences between men and women in rates of Alzheimer's dementia or performance on cognitive testing.
Dr Driver-Dunckley explained: "Men and women with Parkinson's disease had similar rates of Alzheimer's dementia and similar results on cognitive testing. However, women showed a higher amyloid plaque burden compared with men."
The findings raise important questions about both the relationship between brain pathology and cognitive outcomes, as well as the biological mechanisms underlying the observed sex differences.
"The greater severity of amyloid plaque pathology in women should have an effect on the onset and severity of cognitive impairment, but our study did not find this," said Dr Driver-Dunckley. "It may be that a larger study would pick up cognitive differences related to the increased plaque load."
While the reasons for the observed sex difference remain unclear, previous studies have also reported more severe Alzheimer's-related pathology and cognitive impairment in women with Alzheimer's disease without Parkinson’s disease, suggesting a possible biological susceptibility that warrants deeper investigation. 4
"Our findings highlight the need for further research into sex differences in Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's-related pathology," concluded Dr Driver-Dunckley. "An important next step will be to confirm these findings in additional large clinicopathological studies and better understand the biological mechanisms that may underlie these differences."
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Press Enquiries:
A reference to the EAN Congress must be included when communicating the information within this press release.
For further information or to speak to an expert, please contact the press team at press@ean.org .
About the Expert:
Erika Driver-Dunckley, M.D., F.A.A.N., is a Professor of Neurology and the Chair of the Movement Disorders Division in the Department of Neurology at Mayo Clinic. She completed her Neurology Residency training at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona and then her Fellowship in Movement Disorders at Mayo Clinic Arizona. She is the Neurology Residency Program Director and the Movement Disorders Fellowship Program Director. She teaches medical students at the Mayo Medical school and serves as a mentor for students, residents, and junior faculty. She has developed and led several Mayo Clinic CME courses and conferences in Neurology and Movement Disorders. She is the principal investigator or a co-investigator at Mayo Clinic in multiple clinical trials and collaborates with researchers at Arizona State University (ASU) and Banner Sun Health Research Institute. Her primary research focus is in Parkinson's disease, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, Essential Tremor, and Restless Legs Syndrome. She is a Board-certified Neurologist by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
About the EAN:
The EAN is a non-profit, independent organisation representing more than 45,000 members, as well as 48 European national societies. As a medical society we promote excellence in the practice of general neurology throughout Europe, leading to improved patient care.
We also aim to keep Europe at the forefront of neurological research and maintain its position as one of the world’s leading scientific hotspots in neurology.
Learn more: ean.org
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