By Simon Spichak, MSc / Published On: May 11, 2026
“Originally published on Being Patient, an editorially independent news site covering the latest research on Alzheimer’s disease and brain health.”
A new study finds that the protein alpha-synuclein may accelerate harmful tau buildup in women’s brains, offering new insight into disease progression.
Alzheimer’s is defined by beta-amyloid plaques which build up between brain cells and tau tangles that slowly destroy them from the inside. But many people with the disease also accumulate other toxic proteins within the brain.
Alpha-synuclein, a protein that misfolds across Parkinson’s and dementia with Lewy bodies, is also commonly found clumping up in the brains of around half of Alzheimer’s cases.
Until recently, scientists could only measure alpha-synuclein during an autopsy. Using new cerebrospinal fluid tests, researchers from the Mayo Clinic could detect these misfolded proteins in living study participants.
Their latest research, published in JAMA Network Open adds sex to the story. The presence of misfolded alpha-synuclein was linked with 20-fold faster accumulation of tau tangles in women but not in men.
“This finding may explain why some women experience more aggressive dementia progression,” said lead author Elijah Mak of the Mayo Clinic. “Although we’d like to emphasize that more research is needed with larger sample sizes.”
Recent Comments