Blacks are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than whites, but there’s little research on the difference because most patients in studies are white, according to an article published Tuesday in a neurology journal.
The latest research was conducted at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Neurology. It found Alzheimer’s rates among a study group of blacks and whites were the same, but blacks developed Alzheimer’s with lower levels of key proteins that are biomarkers for the disease.
Dr. John C. Morris, the lead researcher, said the study highlights a misunderstanding in how the disease develops among minorities and shows that it is being under-recognized in blacks.
“If we only study Alzheimer’s in Caucasians, we’ll only learn about Alzheimer’s in Caucasians,” Dr. Morris said in a statement released by the university. “If we want to understand all the ways the disease can develop in people, we need to include people from all groups. Without a complete understanding of the illness, we’re not going to be able to develop therapies that work for all people.”
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