About seventy regions of human DNA show connections with Alzheimer’s disease. This is apparent from research by an international team in which the University of Antwerp has also contributed. Forty found regions have never been identified so far. The study was published Monday in the scientific journal Nature Genetics.
Nearly 150,000 Flemish people are living with Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to environmental factors such as a person’s lifestyle or underlying conditions, there is also evidence that genetic factors may be at the root of the disease.
The links between DNA and Alzheimer’s disease have therefore been studied for some time. The new research has sought to capture those links in the largest-scale study ever, analyzing DNA from nearly 800,000 people, 111,000 of whom had Alzheimer’s.
The scientists were able to identify a total of 75 regions in DNA that are linked to whether or not they have Alzheimer’s disease. Forty-two of these regions were discovered for the first time.
The research is not yet ready to determine whether and how great a person’s risk is of developing Alzheimer’s. In the long term, that is the intention. ‘Such a risk score is not currently intended for a diagnosis, but it could be a very useful tool in setting up clinical studies to classify participants based on their genetic risk,’ explains Professor Kristel Sleegers (UAntwerp) from. ‘In this way, the effect of candidate drugs could be determined much more accurately.’
Sleegers estimates that with these new discoveries a number of DNA regions have already been found, but that there is still a certain way to go. “We’re beyond the tip of the iceberg, but we’re not there yet.”
Nearly 150,000 Flemish people are living with Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to environmental factors such as a person’s lifestyle or underlying conditions, there is also evidence that genetic factors may be at the root of the disease. The links between DNA and Alzheimer’s disease have therefore been studied for some time. The new research has sought to establish those links in the largest-scale study ever, analyzing DNA from nearly 800,000 people, 111,000 of whom had Alzheimer’s. The scientists were able to identify a total of 75 regions in DNA linked to whether or not they had of Alzheimer’s disease. Forty-two of these regions were discovered for the first time. The research is not yet ready to determine whether and how great a person’s risk is of developing Alzheimer’s. In the long term, that is the intention. ‘Such a risk score is not currently intended for a diagnosis, but it could be a very useful tool in setting up clinical studies to classify participants based on their genetic risk,’ explains Professor Kristel Sleegers (UAntwerp) from. ‘In this way, the effect of candidate drugs could be determined much more accurately.’ Sleegers estimates that with these new discoveries a number of DNA regions have already been found, but that there is still a certain way to go. “We’re beyond the tip of the iceberg, but we’re not there yet.”