US scientists have identified a gene which they suggest is associated with Alzheimer's and could help uncover the causes of the disease.
The research was led by Dr Pericak-Vance at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine with the findings published in PLoS Genetics last week.
The researchers used genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to investigate genetic variation in 2,269 people with Alzheimer's and 3,107 without the disease. They found a variation in a gene called MTHFD1L was associated with Alzheimer's.
'Identifying this gene is important because the gene is known to be involved in influencing the body's levels of homocysteine, and high levels of homocysteine are a strong risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease', Dr Pericak-Vance said.
It has also recently been suggested that MTHFD1L may increase the risk of coronary artery disease. The authors suggest that understanding more about the role of the gene could aid understanding of how homocysteine levels and blood vessel function in the brain affect Alzheimer's.
Rebecca Wood, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: 'Our understanding of the genetics of Alzheimer's is advancing at a pace now, with important new discoveries providing treatment targets for dementia scientists. The identification of this gene contributes another piece to the puzzle, particularly as it is involved with processes already known to be linked to Alzheimer's'.
'There is still much ground to cover in unravelling the genetic code of Alzheimer's and further studies are crucial to future successes'.
Sources and References
Related Articles
Brain genes change over time
The brain is a genetic mosaic of nerve cells that differ from each other slightly and change over time, according to a new study published in the journal Nature....
New Alzheimer's disease genes discovered
International scientists including researchers at Cardiff University, UK and the University of Pennsylvania, USA have discovered five genetic variations associated with Alzheimer's disease. The findings are published in two papers in the journal Nature Genetics...
Alzheimer's gene variant impairs the middle-aged, scientists say
Middle-aged people without Alzheimer's disease who have a 'high risk' variant of the TOMM40 gene are more likely to have poorer memory, new research findings suggest...
Genetic variants linked to early-onset dementia
An international team of scientists have identified two genetic variants associated with fronto-temporal dementia (FTD), a common form of early onset dementia. The study, published in Nature Genetics, could help in the search for new treatments to tackle the disease....
Cholesterol control gene could provide dementia protection
American scientists have found that a genetic variation could be associated with slower memory decline and a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. The preliminary findings shed light on processes in the brain that could contribute to memory loss and dementia. The work was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last week....
Alzheimer's gene therapy treatment enters phase II trial
Dr R. Scott Turner and his team of the Memory Disorders Program at Georgetown University, US, have begun recruiting patients to take part in a gene therapy trial, which hopes to test whether gene therapy using the nerve growth factor (NGF) gene could be used to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease...
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.