Gene Discovered for Alzheimer's Disease

Ivanhoe Newswire
Monday, January 15, 2007; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Research reveals the discovery of a new gene connected to late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

An international team of researchers from Columbia University Medical Center in New York, Boston University School of Medicine, and the University of Toronto collaborated on the study. They analyzed blood samples from more than 6,000 volunteers including participants from four different ethnic groups, including Caribbean-Hispanics, Northern Europeans, African-American and Israeli-Arabs -- important because many previous studies relied on data from mostly white populations

The research actually began in 1994 when Richard Mayeux, M.D., noticed Dominicans have about three-times the rate of Alzheimer's disease compared to individuals of other ethnic backgrounds. To find the common genetic thread, he collected blood samples from entire families of Dominican descent.

Study authors report variants in the SORL1 gene are more common in people with late-onset Alzheimer's than in healthy people the same age. They believe genetic variations in SORL1 alter its normal function. Instead of sending a special protein along harmless pathways, the altered gene causes the special protein to encourage the production of amyloid beta peptides -- the toxic substance believed to cause Alzheimer's.

Researchers report the next step is to determine how many Alzheimer's cases are caused by variants in the SORL1 gene and to explore potential treatments based on this new information.

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SOURCE: Nature Genetics, published online Jan. 14, 2007