Most Alzheimer's cases linked to variants in a single gene
Medical Xpress••health
Key Points:
- A new UCL-led analysis estimates that over 90% of Alzheimer's disease cases and nearly half of all dementia cases are influenced by the APOE gene, specifically its ε3 and ε4 variants, highlighting the gene's major role in disease occurrence.
- The study used data from over 450,000 participants across four large studies and found that the combined effect of ε3 and ε4 alleles accounts for 72–93% of Alzheimer's cases, a higher estimate than previous research which focused mainly on ε4.
- Researchers emphasize that APOE and its protein product represent a significantly under-recognized target for drug development, with potential for preventing or treating a large proportion of Alzheimer's disease.
- Despite APOE's strong influence, Alzheimer's and
