{"id":30721,"date":"2025-10-16T19:26:54","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T19:26:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=30721"},"modified":"2025-10-20T15:20:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T15:20:14","slug":"new-study-unveils-gene-linked-to-higher-risk-of-ms-and-alzheimers-in-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/new-study-unveils-gene-linked-to-higher-risk-of-ms-and-alzheimers-in-women\/","title":{"rendered":"New Study Unveils Gene Linked to Higher Risk of MS and Alzheimer\u2019s in Women"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">Researchers at UCLA Health have pinpointed the gene on the X chromosome that drives higher levels of brain inflammation in women, illuminating why they are more susceptible to neurological disorders like Alzheimer\u2019s disease and multiple sclerosis. This discovery opens up promising treatment possibilities.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-b0ffac9c wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scientists at UCLA Health have identified a crucial gene on the X chromosome that triggers heightened brain inflammation in women, potentially explaining why they are more vulnerable to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer\u2019s disease and multiple sclerosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/scitranslmed.adq3401\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Published<\/a> in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the study focuses on the gene <em>Kdm6a<\/em> and its role in inflaming microglia, the immune cells located in the brain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The researchers used a mouse model to demonstrate that females, possessing two X chromosomes, experience a \u201cdouble dose\u201d of inflammation, amplifying the risk for these conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt has long been known that there are sex differences in the brain. These can impact both health and neurological diseases,\u201d lead author\u00a0Rhonda Voskuhl, the director of the Multiple Sclerosis Program at UCLA Health and lead neurologist for the UCLA Comprehensive Menopause Program, said in a news release. \u201cMultiple sclerosis and Alzheimer&#8217;s disease each affect women more often than men, about two to three times as often. Also, two-thirds of healthy women have \u2018brain fog\u2019 during menopause. These new findings explain why and point to a new treatment to target this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When first author Yuichiro Itoh, a member of the Voskuhl lab, genetically deactivated the <em>Kdm6a<\/em> gene in brain cells, the inflammatory molecules shifted to a resting state. The team&#8217;s pharmacologic approach using metformin, a common diabetes medication now being investigated for its anti-aging potential, corroborated these findings. The results were substantial in female mice but had minimal impact on males.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is consistent with there being \u2018more to block\u2019 in females due to having two copies of the X-linked gene,\u201d added Voskuhl, who is also a professor of neurology at UCLA Health. \u201cIt\u2019s also why females are more likely to get MS and AD than males. This has implications for the clinic. Women may respond differently to metformin treatment than men.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The implications extend beyond metabolic treatments. Voskuhl connected these findings to menopausal brain fog, shedding light on how hormonal changes exacerbate inflammation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Sex chromosomes and sex hormones achieve a balance through evolution,&#8221; she said. \u201cThere is a selection bias to do so. Females have a balance between X chromosome-driven inflammation that can be good to fight infections at child-bearing ages. This is held in check by estrogen, which is anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective. As women age, menopause causes loss of estrogen, unleashing the proinflammatory and neurodegenerative effects of this X chromosome the brain immune cell.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:12px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Source<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uclahealth.org\/news\/release\/why-womens-brains-face-higher-risk-scientists-pinpoint-x\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">UCLA Health<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scientists at UCLA Health have identified a crucial gene on the X chromosome that triggers heightened brain inflammation in women, potentially explaining why they are more vulnerable to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer\u2019s disease and multiple sclerosis. Published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the study focuses on the gene Kdm6a and its role in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[482],"class_list":["post-30721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","tag-ucla-health"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Scientists at UCLA Health have identified a crucial gene on the X chromosome that triggers heightened brain inflammation in women, potentially explaining why they are more vulnerable to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer\u2019s disease and multiple sclerosis. Published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the study focuses on the gene Kdm6a and its role in&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30721"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30763,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30721\/revisions\/30763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}