Alzheimer’s Disease and Sex-Dependent Alterations in the Striatum: A Lesson from a Mouse Model

Article type: Article Commentary

Authors: La Barbera, Livia^{a; b} | D’Amelio, Marcello^{a; b; *}

Affiliations: [a] Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy | [b] IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Marcello, D’Amelio, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy. E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: In the last years, many clinical studies highlighted sex-specific differences in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The recent paper published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease shows the influence of sex on amyloid-β plaque deposition, behavior, and dopaminergic signaling in the 5xFAD mouse model of AD, with worse alterations in female mice. This commentary focuses on the importance of recognizing sex as a key variable to consider for a more precise clinical practice, with the challenge to develop sex-specific therapeutic interventions in neurodegenerative diseases such as AD.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid-β , dopamine, 5xFAD

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-230681

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 94, no. 4, pp. 1377-1380, 2023