Why does alzheimer's disease affect short term memory more than long term memory? are women more at risk?

why does it affect short term memory more than long term? are women more at risk to get alzheimer's? is it genetic?

It only seems to affect short term memory. What is really happening is several things.
The brain is being slowly destroyed. Very entrenched old memories may be stored in more than one place and thus survive. Also the person can compensate for a while and hide their growing problems.
New memories don't "stick" as well but that doesn't mean that older memories all remain. It seems to eat memories in reverse, making the person appear to be regressing back to childhood. Eventually the brain can't control the body anymore and if the person isn't kept alive with heroic measures, s/he will die.
There is no cure. The medicines available today only slow it down, they don't reverse it or stop it.
Yes, there is a genetic component. Early Onset Alzheimer's has been proven to be genetic and regular Alzheimer's is also mildly hereditary.

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