New Studies Link Three Genes to Alzheimer’s Disease Risk
Scientists are still trying to fully understand the cause or causes of Alzheimer’s disease; fortunately, while they can’t seem to identify any specific causes they have made progress in identifying potential risk factors of Alzheimer’s disease. According to the U.S. News and World Report, scientists have a new lead on genes that contribute to the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
On September 6, two international teams of researchers stated that in comparing subtle genetic spelling variations in nearly 12,000 Alzheimer’s patients with almost 19,000 other people revealed three genes, which they believe to be associated with the disease.
These genes are the first to be implicated in the risk of getting the common form of Alzheimer’s since the variant of the apolipoprotein E gene APOE4 was identified in 1993. That gene’s influence may explain about 20 percent of cases of Alzheimer’s disease, says Philippe Amouyel of the French health research agency INSERM in Lille and coauthor of one of the new studies. But researchers knew other genes must be involved since 60 to 80 percent of the risk of developing the disease is genetic.
This is a promising step in the field of medical research. To learn more about Alzheimer’s disease research visit the neuroscience department at NorthShore University HealthSystem.
