Improving diversity in Alzheimer’s research
The health inequities that have long plagued the U.S. were highlighted and worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic. Low-income and minoritized populations, such as Black and Hispanic Americans, are not only at greater risk of infection, hospitalization, and death from the disease, but they are also up to twice as likely to develop chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. ARTICLE
Black women are missing from breast cancer tumor data. And that may be killing them.
New research showing genetic differences in breast cells suggests standard treatments for breast cancer are less effective for Black women, who disproportionately suffer and die from the disease. The new study from the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute also highlights the need to include more Black people in trials, experts say. More inclusive data is essential to help fill knowledge gaps and improve treatment plans. ARTICLE
Cell studies suggest a way sleep loss may be linked to Alzheimer’s
The immune system may remove the protein plaques in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease on a circadian schedule and this could be affected by sleep loss, a study involving mouse cells suggests. The circadian schedule is an internal clock that controls sleep and a vast array of other bodily processes on a roughly 24-hour cycle. Doctors have long observed that people with Alzheimer’s disease have sleep disturbances and circadian disruption, but it remains unclear the
Breast cells in breastmilk are alive and may offer insights into breast cancer
The protective effect of breastfeeding against breast cancer has been known for some time. However, the mechanisms underlying this have remained unclear. While mouse studies suggest this could be due to changes in the breast tissue that occur during and breastfeeding causing long lasting epigenetic changes, it has been difficult to investigate. This is because most breast tissue donors are people undergoing surgery and very few of these individuals would have been lactating.
