Currently, most cases of Alzheimer’s disease do not have a clear cause. The new approach focuses on a variant of the APOE4 gene. While inheriting one copy increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, two copies, analyzed in a large group for the first time, were found to be almost decisive.
The study found that nearly all participants with two copies of APOE4 showed biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease much earlier than usual. By age 55, symptoms of the disease appeared in more than 95%, and characteristic amyloid plaques appeared in most by age 65. Cognitive decline also started earlier in this group.
Juan Fortea, one of the authors of the study, emphasizes that 15-20 percent of disease cases may be genetic in origin, and that this is a common genetic disorder.
The potential consequences are significant. Although no treatment is available at this early stage, hundreds of thousands of people may present with presymptomatic diagnosis. This new understanding could also accelerate the development of gene therapies and tailor clinical trials.
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Source: Ferra
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