New
genetic
risk
factor
for
susceptibility
to
Alzheimer's
disease
is
found
June
19,
2001
-
Alzheimer's
disease
(AD)
researchers
at
the
University
of
Pittsburgh
have
singled
out
a
new
genetic
risk
factor
for
the
debilitating
brain
disease
that
affects
4
million
Americans
today
and
will
strike
as
many
as
14
million
during
the
next
50
years.
In
a
decade-long
research
study
following
more
than
300
first-degree
relatives
of
189
Alzheimer's
patients,
the
researchers
identified
a
small
area
of
chromosome
10
that,
when
combined
with
the
previously
identified
APOE
E4
gene,
significantly
increase
a
person's
risk
of
developing
the
disease.
This
combination
of
genes
produced
a
16-fold
increase
in
the
risk
of
AD
among
first-degree
relatives.
By
comparison,
this
effect
is
greater
than
the
increased
risk
of
lung
cancer
caused
by
smoking.
These
new
results
are
supported
by
independent
studies
of
AD
patients
and
controls
from
Pittsburgh,
Boston,
and
Bonn,
Germany.
Dr.
Zubenko
and
his
colleagues
studied
normal
individuals
between
the
ages
of
40
and
75
who
were
first-degree
relatives
of
patients
with
AD.
The
subjects
were
given
standard
memory
evaluation
tests
to
be
certain
they
had
not
suffered
any
cognitive
decline
prior
to
the
start
of
the
study,
and
then
blood
samples
were
drawn
to
identify
genetic
and
biochemical
risk
factors
for
AD
and
related
disorders.
Eighteen
people
developed
AD
after
11.5
years
of
regular
follow-up
evaluations.
Ongoing
assessments
of
the
remainder
of
the
group
and
the
continuing
search
for
new
risk
factors
are
in
progress.
These
findings
may
provide
new
molecular
targets
for
therapeutic
drug
development
and
will
help
researchers
design
trials
involving
subjects
who
have
the
greatest
likelihood
of
responding
to
therapy
and
for
whom
successful
therapy
would
have
the
greatest
impact.
Furthermore,
the
newly
discovered
risk
locus
affects
brain
levels
of
dopamine,
the
neurotransmitter
used
by
neurons
that
degenerate
in
Parkinson's
disease.
As
a
result,
the
new
findings
may
have
relevance
for
both
of
these
common
neurodegenerative
disorders.
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