The New York Times (5/6, Belluck ) reports, “Scientists are proposing a new way of understanding the genetics of Alzheimer’s that would mean that up to a fifth of patients would be considered to have a genetically caused form of the disease.” The concept “involves a gene variant called APOE4. Scientists have long known that inheriting one copy of the variant increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s, and that people with two copies, inherited from each parent, have vastly increased risk.”
The AP (5/6, Neergaard ) reports that now, “research published Monday suggests that for people who carry not one but two copies of the gene, it’s more than a risk factor, it’s an underlying cause of the mind-robbing disease.” Additionally, for these patients, “symptoms can begin seven to 10 years sooner than in other older adults who develop Alzheimer’s.” Around “15% of Alzheimer’s patients carry two copies of APOE4.”
Reuters (5/6, Steenhuysen) reports, “The reclassification could change Alzheimer’s research, diagnosis and approaches to treatment, according to the researchers, whose study was published in the journal Nature Medicine.”
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