16 years after discovering the first susceptibility gene for Alzheimer’s, French and British researchers have now indentified three more genes.
Currently, three genes have been identified that increase the risk of early-onset forms of Alzheimer’s disease that runs in families. However, no other genes have yet been found responsible for the late-onset forms of the disease, except for allele E4 of the apolipoprotein E gene.
The study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, reported that French researchers have discovered two genes, the gene for apolipoprotein J on chromsome 8 and the CR1 gene on chromosome 1, that increase a person’s risk of the disease. However, the researchers also state that a person may carry these genes but may never develop the disease.
On the British side, they have identified a third gene PICALM, which plays a function in communication between neurons.
These findings open up new avenues in the fight against the disease, which affects 500 000 Canadians.