American and European researchers have identified five new genes linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to the scientific journal Nature Genetics.
After analyzing of the genetic code of 54,000 people from the United States, Canada and Europe for markers of dementia, four genes were discovered by an American team; while European researchers discovered the fifth gene.
This brings the number of genes linked to dementia to nine – meaning those genetic anomalies account for 60 percent of all cases. Several seem to be components of the same biochemical pathways in the brain.
Researchers now have a better understanding of the different effects of cholesterol and inflammation on brain cells. Contrary to popular belief, inflammation occurs in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.
"This is the culmination of years of work on Alzheimer’s disease by a large number of scientists, yet it is just the beginning in defining how genes influence memory and intellectual function as we age,” said Dr Gerard Schellenberg of the University of Pennsylvania.