Neurodegenerative diseases in women

Within neurodegenerative disease gender differences ore minor. The incidenc e and prevalence of the major dementing disorders, for example, are about e qual. Nevertheless, in particular genetic and hormonal influences must be t aken into account. It is well known that men excel in mental rotation tasks , while women ore superior in memorizing objects. Some studies emphasize a reduced functional asymmetry of the hemispheres in females. As regards Alzh eimer's disease women are mildly more impaired cognitively, hut their longe r survival increases the prevalence rate in The oldest age group. Whether t heir mental impairments may be lessened using estrogen substitution is stil l a matter of debate. Women are more often care-givers for physically and m entally handicapped peers than men. A few genetic and degenerative disease ore met mostly or exclusively in females, such as Goltz-Gorlin's syndrome, Rett's syndrome, Bloch-Sulzberger's syndrome, Meige's syndrome, Triplo-X an d Turner's syndrome.