Having two identical alleles (gene versions) of APOE4 is the cause of 20% of Alzheimer’s disease.
Publika.az reports that this was revealed by a study published in “Nature Medicine” magazine.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a specific type of dementia in which memory declines due to the gradual loss of brain cells. Previous studies have shown that having two copies of the APOE4 allele (one from the mother and one from the father) increases the risk of the disease. Scientists have found in a new study that this genetic trait leads to the development of symptoms that are not typical of normal Alzheimer’s disease.
Biologists analyzed brain tissue from 3,000 Alzheimer’s patients who donated their organs for research, as well as biomarkers from 10,000 living patients. 800 patients had both copies of the APOE4 allele. By the age of 65, almost all of them have high levels of amyloid protein in their cerebrospinal fluid, which is linked to the development of AD. Dementia symptoms also started at similar ages. APOE4 patients may account for 15% to 20% of all people with AD.
These clear patterns suggest that all patients with two copies of APOE4 suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, which is different from normal Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists believe that the presence of two APOE4 alleles should not be considered a risk factor, but rather a cause of a previously unidentified type of disease.
Jamila
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