Alzheimers News: Useless Drug, Novel Gene

A new gene that could help predict who gets Alzheimer’s and what age has been discovered by Duke University scientists, and it sits close to a gene well-known to increase the risk of the disease.

The ApoE4 gene is a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD4). People who inherit the ApoE4 gene from one parent are three times more likely to develop AD, and those who carry two copies are ten times more likely to get the disease. The other allele called ApoE3 has not been implicated in developing Alzheimer’s. However,  Dr. Allen Roses, who led the group from Duke, reported that there is another gene called TOMM40 that can predict how soon a person may get Alzheimer’s if he carries the ApoE3 genotype.

Apparently, Alzheimer’s can develop by an average of seven years early if both ApoE3 and extra copies of TOMM40 are present in a person. Dr. Roses presented the report at the ongoing International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Vienna. Although these results do need to be verified by other groups, but if this relationship turns out true then it will help predict how soon one may develop AD. And TOMM40 can also help identify who should be taking AD drugs earlier than normal.

And speaking of drugs… analysts found that the drug Avanti has no benefit on patients with Alzheimer’s Disease. GlaxoSmithKline stopped developing the drug in April since “there is no evidence that it works” to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s.

Via: Bloomberg.com; Image: Tin can