




































Special Edition: Junior Clinical Research (2022), Vol. 2 No. S2 
 https://doi.org/10.47488/dhrp.v2iS2.48 

 

 
 

 DHR Proceedings ǀ http://dhrproceedings.org  15 2022, Vol. 2 No. S2 15-19 
 

 

COMMENTARY 

The Effects of Alzheimer’s Disease: Gender, 

Race, & Ethnicity 

Kenya A. Rodriguez1,2, Selena Aleman1,3, Hannah E. Rodriguez1,3, Allison R. Alvarez1,4, Jorge S. 

Garza- Palacios1,5, Marcela Trevino1,6, Galilea Castro1,7, Nahre M. J. Royal1,8, Grace Ortiz1,9 

 

1 2nd Annual Junior Clinical Research Internship, South Texas Academy for Education & Training in Research, DHR Health  

Institute for Research & Development 
2 The Science Academy of South Texas, Mercedes, TX. 
3 San Benito High School, San Benito, TX. 
4 Harlingen High School South, Harlingen, TX. 
5 Edinburg North High School, Edinburg, TX. 

6 PSJA Southwest ECHS, Pharr, TX. 

7 Mission Collegiate High School, Mission, TX. 
8 Harlingen High School, Harlingen, TX. 

9 Port Isabel High School, Port Isabel, TX. 

 

All correspondence should be addressed to Program Director, 2nd Annual Junior Clinical Research Internship Program, DHR 

Health Institute for Research & Development, 5323 S McColl Road, Edinburg Texas, 78539 

 

Received 06/27/2022 

Accepted for publication 07/14/2022 

Published 07/14/2022 

 

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Dementia; Gender; Race; Hispanics; African Americans; Behavior 

 
 

Introduction  

 
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of 

dementia, a term which stems from Latin that refers to, 

“a state out of mind” [1]. Dementia has been around 

since ancient times and has been routinely classified as 

a condition of old age. Individuals with dementia were 

often seen in an almost age reversing process, as their 

mental state diminished to an infant-like level. As 

more studies of dementia have progressed, questions 

have been raised over whether or not the condition is 

truly age-bound.  

 

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) 

 
Dementia is the term used for diseases that 

impair cognitive abilities. Alzheimer’s is a  

 

 

form of dementia and is the sixth leading cause of 

death in the US. This brain disorder can occur in two 

age groups; there are those that experience early onset 

between their 30’s to 60’s and others experience onset 

between the mid 60’s to late 80’s [2]. A major 

indicator of Alzheimer’s is Mild Cognitive 

Impairment (MCI), an early stage of memory loss. Not 

everyone with this diagnosis develops Alzheimer’s, 

but it is a common indicator. Neurological 

mechanisms are affected when you have AD and, 

unfortunately, the damage is widespread. Neurons 

stop functioning and lose connection with other 

neurons and eventually die. Over time, individuals 

with AD slowly lose their ability to function 

independently due to lack of brain cell 

communication. 

 

 



Rodriguez, et al   Effects of Alzheimer’s Disease 
 https://doi.org/10.47488/dhrp.v2iS2.48 
 

 

 
 

 DHR Proceedings ǀ http://dhrproceedings.org  16 2022, Vol. 2 No. S2 15-19 
 

Disease Progression & Effects of AD on 

Patients 

 
           The brains of individuals with AD show signs 

of moderate atrophy of the limbic lobe structure which 

affects consciousness and emotional state. The lobe is 

responsible for communication to other parts of the 

brain and for fight or flight responses. Thus, when the 

lobe is atrophied, the loss of cells causes impairment 

of individuals and sporadic behaviors [3]. Taking 

Alzheimer's disease’s neuropathology as an example, 

memory loss is one of the first symptoms that patients 

with Alzheimer's disease report. Working memory, 

long-term memory, and declarative memory are all 

impacted in the early stages of the disease. 

 

Alzheimer’s progresses gradually depending 

on the level of severity the individual encounters. 

Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is difficult, and because 

there is no cure, treating the disease is difficult. People 

who develop AD become disoriented, confused, 

unable to tell time, recognize people, or recall recent 

events. 

 

Individuals with AD lose brain function 

gradually and forget how to perform tasks that require 

the use of cognitive skills. This includes reading, 

writing, speaking, and understanding. As to why AD 

patients start to lose these skills, the NIH has stated 

that “Alzheimer’s disease causes brain cells to die, so 

the brain works less well over time. This changes how 

a person acts” [4]. Aggression is one of the most 

common behaviors exhibited in individuals. 

Wandering, paranoia, confusion, and hallucinations 

are also common developments [5]. As the disease 

progresses, these behavioral changes will also begin to 

amplify within the individual. The rate at which the 

individual is lucid (aware) also becomes less frequent 

and conditions tend to worsen with time.  

 

 AD has an impact not just on the individual 

but also on the people around them. Family members 

must deal with work-related stress, such as the need to 

change their schedule because they are caring for a 

loved one.  

According to a recent study, 57% of caregivers had to 

work late, leave early, or take time off; 16% had to 

miss work, 18% had to switch from full-time to part-

time employment. In another study, 9% had to quit 

their job completely, and 6% had to retire early [6]. As 

a result, family members stop caring for their loved 

ones, which leads to individuals with AD being placed 

in long-term care facilities, or causing AD to progress 

into severe stages at faster rates because there is no 

available caretaker. 

 

Alzheimer’s in America: Race & Ethnicity  

 
The occurrence of AD in people aged 65 or 

older is about 1 in 10. However, minorities tend to 

develop AD at an alarming rate. Race and ethnicity are 

vast risk factors for developing AD. The CDC states 

in preceding order that, "... African Americans (13.8 

%), followed by Hispanics (12.2 %) ..." are more prone 

to developing AD. The CDC even stated that, “By 

2060…there will be [an estimated] 3.2 million 

Hispanics and 2.2 million African Americans with 

AD” [7]. Factors that may be contributing to this 

disparity are high blood pressure and diabetes which 

are more prevalent in these communities. Both 

conditions contribute to a greater prevalence of AD 

because blood vessels in the brain are more susceptible 

to damage due to hypertension [8]. Data has also 

shown that blacks are about two times more likely than 

whites to have AD, while Hispanics are about 1.5 

times more likely. Black individuals are also more 

likely to experience delusions, hallucinations, 

aggression, and irritability, in comparison to other race 

groups. 

 

Gender Prevalence 

 
Although both men and women are able to 

develop AD, women have been proven to be more 

susceptible. Of the 6 million people in the U.S. with 

AD, women make up more than half of this number. 

Studies have given some explanation to this issue, 

expressing results that support women being at much 

greater risk. This may be because women live longer 

than men. Additionally, according to Harvard Health 

Publishing, “…women are twice as likely to have an 

autoimmune disease compared to men.” [9] On the 

other hand, men begin exhibiting signs of lucidity 

before women. In essence, women are slower to show 

the side effects of AD, like mental decline, compared 

to men. They have appeared to surpass males when 

conducting memory tests in the first stages of 

Alzheimer’s [10]. However, this does in fact change as 

amyloid plaque, proteins which form in the creases of 

nerve cells, increases in females, unfortunately, so 

does lucidity; meaning that the disease grows 

exponentially faster in later stages of AD in women 

[11].



Rodriguez, et al   Effects of Alzheimer’s Disease 
 https://doi.org/10.47488/dhrp.v2iS2.48 
 

 

 
 

 DHR Proceedings ǀ http://dhrproceedings.org  17 2022, Vol. 2 No. S2 15-19 
 

Diagnosis 

 
There is no way to know if an individual 

truly has AD. The only accurate way to diagnose an 

individual is post-mortem during autopsy. If an 

individual is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s (based on 

symptoms and factors), the development of AD to 

death ranges 4-20 years [12]. 

 

Treatment  
 

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease but 

there are ways to slow the progression. Medications 

are provided to people who are suffering from 

Alzheimer’s, including Cholinesterase inhibitors and 

Memantine (Namenda) which have both been 

approved by the FDA. According to Mayo Clinic 

“...Cholinesterase inhibitors boost the amount of 

acetylcholine available to nerve cells by preventing its 

[nerve cells] breakdown in the brain” [13]. This 

medication can slow the progression but it can’t cure 

AD nor stop the total destruction of nerve cells.  A 

reported problem with this medication is loss of 

effectiveness over time. This is because as the disease 

progresses, the brain will produce less acetylcholine, 

a neurotransmitter of the parasympathetic nervous 

system that plays a role in memory, learning, and 

neuroplasticity. The side effects consist of nausea, 

vomiting, and diarrhea but can be combated by taking 

the medication with food or receiving treatment in 

low doses. On the other hand, Memantine is used 

when the individual is in the late, severe stages of AD. 

The medication is used for people who are older 

because the drug regulates glutamate, “a messenger 

protein widely involved in brain functions including 

learning and memory” [14]. Memantine is an 

effective medication as it is said to improve memory; 

however, side effects include body aches, dizziness, 

constipation and headaches. 

 

Research & New Findings 

 
The current understanding of Alzheimer’s 

Disease is limited, and there is no early diagnosis or 

therapy currently available. Nonetheless, it is agreed 

that the causes for AD include increasing age, 

genetics, head injury, vascular disease, infections, and 

environmental conditions (exposure to heavy metals, 

trace metals, etc.). 

 

Through the past few years, the 

understanding of the disease has significantly 

advanced (diagnosis, prevention, and treatment). But 

despite the significant progress that has been made, 

the cause of pathological changes in AD is still 

unknown. Despite no official theory being confirmed, 

scientists suggest that an impairment in the 

cholinergic function is a major risk factor for 

Alzheimer’s disease [15]. Cholinergic medications 

are a category of pharmaceutical agents that act upon 

the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, the primary 

neurotransmitter within the parasympathetic nervous 

system (PNS). Others believe that an alteration in 

amyloid B-protein production and processing is the 

main initiating cause of Alzheimer’s disease [16]. 

This is due to the fact that Amyloid-B peptide is a 

major component of senile plaques that commonly 

form in brains affected by AD. 

 

Because of the unknowns affiliated with AD, 

the number of clinical trials has increased over the last 

few years. Of these clinical trials, stem cell therapy 

has been used as a disease-modifying treatment for 

AD. The number of studies on stem cells increased 

after the failure to create new drugs for Alzheimer’s 

[17]. Another clinical trial involves drug treatment of 

AD, and suggests that the pathological changes 

associated with Alzheimer’s begin 2-3 decades before 

the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s appear. Based on 

data derived from the trials, it has been concluded that 

pharmacological therapy could benefit individuals in 

the pre-clinical stage of Alzheimer’s (before the 

disease is diagnosed [18].  

 

In another study, researchers have proposed 

that Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV-1) can be a risk 

factor for the development of AD. Studies conducted 

on mice infected with the HSV-1 have shown 

neurological degeneration and memory loss that is 

commonly affiliated with AD. In short, the study 

suggests that AD may have a viral origin. The study 

has ultimately raised hopes for a potential HSV-1 

vaccine that could in turn diminish the rate at which 

AD is developed among the general population [19]. 

 

Conclusion & Discussion 

 
It is generally assumed that Alzheimer's is a 

disease of age, but it has been learned that AD can 

begin as early as 30 years old [2]. However, research 

conducted on early-onset AD is limited as the total 

case makeup is not vast. In studying Alzheimer’s, it 

has been found that the disease causes brain 

deterioration that results in severe diminishment. 

Research did not discuss fully, however, the extent of 

damage that occurs in individuals with AD, nor the 

fact that deterioration of memory and changes in 

behavior are typically uneven and untimely. This is 



Rodriguez, et al   Effects of Alzheimer’s Disease 
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 DHR Proceedings ǀ http://dhrproceedings.org  18 2022, Vol. 2 No. S2 15-19 
 

likely due to the fact that the disease progresses in 

different ages among affected individuals, and that 

bodily functions (brain mechanisms) can be 

influenced by many factors (education, environment, 

etc.). 

 

Additionally, it was found that the disease 

affects women more than men. This also extends to 

Hispanic and African American minorities. In relation 

to women, AD likely develops more frequently 

because of high life expectancy. Moreover, Hispanic 

and African Americans are more likely to develop AD 

due to predisposition to diabetes and high blood 

pressure. This insight has raised questions in relation 

to women and the rate of Alzheimer’s. It is known that 

during pregnancy, women are likely to develop 

gestational diabetes due to hormonal imbalances [20]. 

This in turn causes high blood pressure which is a 

catalyst in the development of AD. Women are also 

susceptible to hormonal imbalances which may 

account for deficiencies that can lead to brain 

dysfunction.  

 

 Currently there is no cure for AD, but there 

are medications that help with memory loss and 

disease progression. It was found that pharmaceutical 

treatments may help in the prevention of AD [18]. 

Additionally, studies have found that AD may be 

linked to HSV-1 (Herpes Simplex Virus) [19]. These 

findings have been backed by clinical trials and 

immunology of viruses in relation to cancer and other 

diseases. Although AD does not root from one 

specific cause, it is anticipated that the future of 

treatment for the disease moves in this direction for 

future disease prevention. There is not one singular 

way to eradicate this disease in the general population, 

but it should be noted that education, both of 

individuals and the disease itself, can help decrease 

the occurrence of AD.  

 

Acknowledgments 

Dr. Monica Betancourt-Garcia, MD, Scientific 

Director; Melissa Eddie, MS, Program Manager; 

Xochitl Lopez, BS, Program Coordinator 

Funding 

Funded by DHR Health Institute for Research & 

Development; DHR Health; Region One ESC 

GEARUP College Ready, Career Set!; Region One 

ESC GEARUP College Now, Career Connected and 

Region One ESC PATHS 

 

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