Research over the decades on
Alzheimer's disease shows that there is significant evidence that chromosomes 1, 14, 19, and 21 are linked to Alzheimer's. The most common form of Alzheimer's is Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease. This form of the disease is linked heavily to the gene APOE on the chromosome 19. Although there is a high consistency of individuals who have Late-Onset Alzheimer's carry the APOE gene, many people who have Late-Onset Alzheimer's do not carry the APOE gene. Other forms of Alzheimer's are linked to other genes on chromosomes 1, 14, and 21.
Alzheimer's research cannot fully link the disease to genetics. It is not completely known whether the disease is completely genetic or
external factors have an effect on the disease. External factors that may cause alzheimer's range from head injuries in early life to low levels of education. As research continues the true cause for Alzheimer's will most likely become more clear.
I think this is a field science really needs to explore. If they can identify what gene is more likely to allow someones to be predisposed to AD that would be greatly beneficial to the community. Once we find things that people can do to prevent AD then we are well on our way to a cure.
ReplyDeleteIt should be noted that Alzheimer, along with type II diabetes, Huntington's, and Parkinson's, are disease states that arise from common misfolding mechanism of proteins. These misfolded proteins in turn aggregate and convert into an insoluble extracellular amyloid fiber. It would be very informative to find studies on these amyloidoses diseases that record the concordance between dizygotic and monozygotic twins to determine an estimation of the interplay between environmental and genetic factors of the diseases [..and if the amyloidoses share a uniformity in concordance values]. Such a study would demonstrate at least a rough understanding of how genetics and environmental factors influence amyloidoses, as well as if all three disease states share similar pathophysiological pathways [based on the uniformity of all three concordance values.]
ReplyDeleteThis is a area that scientists have been studying for a while and have been longing to link Alzheimer's disease to a gene. I believe that if genetics could be linked to Alzheimer's disease great advancements towards prevention could be made. The above comment is very interesting and provides a great insight into the advancements being made in a wide range of diseases.
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