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GAB2-A New Alzheimer’s Gene Identified
June 07, 2007 at 12:38 PM
Senior Health News
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of disabling memory and thinking problems in older people. The progressive neurological disorder afflicts an estimated 5 million Americans, a number expected to triple by 2050.
“We have entered a new era in medical research. Today’s technologies permit us to survey a sufficient number of letters throughout the human genome to provide a clearer picture of how life works and ultimately allow better clinical management of patients,” said Dr. Dietrich Stephan, Director of TGen’s Neurogenomics Division and the paper’s senior author, “These new, robust tools may eventually allow us to improve our ability to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, even before it strikes”
To date, the most significant gene found to predispose an individual to late onset Alzheimer’s (LOAD) has been APOE4. In this latest study, researchers from seven organizations contributed to the genome-wide scan using Affymetrix microarray technology. The team screened the DNA from 1,400 individuals who had been clinically assessed with Alzheimer’s prior death, and simultaneously examined more than 500,000 SNPs or genetic variations to characterize and confirm additional LOAD susceptibility genes. The search revealed GAB2.
Based on the genetics of this and other neuroscientific findings, researchers suggest the healthy form of the GAB2 gene may protect brain cells from developing tangles, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. If the findings are confirmed, this discovery could provide a target for future Alzheimer’s therapeutic drugs.
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