Autopsies have revealed that some individuals develop the cellular changes indicative of Alzheimer's disease without ever showing clinical symptoms in their lifetime.<\/p>\n
Vanderbilt University Medical Center memory researchers have discovered a potential genetic variant in these asymptomatic individuals that may make brains more resilient against Alzheimer's. <\/p>\n
\"Most Alzheimer's research is searching for genes that predict the disease, but we're taking a different approach. We're looking for genes that predict who among those with Alzheimer's pathology will actually show clinical symptoms of the disease,\" said principal investigator Timothy Hohman, Ph.D., a post-doctoral research fellow in the Center for Human Genetics Research and the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center. <\/p>\n
The article, \"Genetic modification of the relationship between phosphorylated tau and neurodegeneration,\" was published online recently in the journal Alzheimer's and Dementia. <\/p>\n
The researchers used a marker of Alzheimer's disease found in cerebrospinal fluid called phosphorylated tau. In brain cells, tau is a protein that stabilizes the highways of cellular transport in neurons. In Alzheimer's disease tau forms \"tangles\" that disrupt cellular messages. <\/p>\n
Analyzing a sample of 700 subjects from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, Hohman and colleagues looked for genetic variants that modify the relationship between phosphorylated tau and lateral ventricle dilation -- a measure of disease progression visible with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). One genetic mutation (rs4728029) was found to relate to both ventricle dilation and cognition and is a marker of neuroinflammation. <\/p>\n
\"This gene marker appears to be related to an inflammatory response in the presence of phosphorylated tau,\" Hohman said. <\/p>\n
\"It appears that certain individuals with a genetic predisposition toward a 'bad' neuroinflammatory response have neurodegeneration. But those with a genetic predisposition toward no inflammatory response, or a reduced one, are able to endure the pathology without marked neurodegeneration.\" <\/p>\n
Hohman hopes to expand the study to include a larger sample and investigate gene and protein expression using data from a large autopsy study of Alzheimer's disease. <\/p>\n
\"The work highlights the possible mechanism behind asymptomatic Alzheimer's disease, and with that mechanism we may be able to approach intervention from a new perspective. Future interventions may be able to activate these innate response systems that protect against developing Alzheimer's symptoms,\" Hohman said. <\/p>\n
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Exploring genetics behind Alzheimer's resiliency<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Autopsies have revealed that some individuals develop the cellular changes indicative of Alzheimer's disease without ever showing clinical symptoms in their lifetime. Vanderbilt University Medical Center memory researchers have discovered a potential genetic variant in these asymptomatic individuals that may make brains more resilient against Alzheimer's Continue reading