Recent study identifies 11 candidate genetic variants for Alzheimer’s disease – sciencedaily

Miller, an assistant professor at the UK College of Medicine, was co-first author of the study published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. Work started at another university, however, some of the math work was done after Miller arrived in the UK in March.

For the study, genetic sequencing was performed on two cousins ​​from each of the 19 families. Miller says they then identified genetic variants shared between the two cousins.

“We then used a series of filter criteria to identify the rare genetic variants that most likely contributed to the excess Alzheimer’s disease in each family,” he said.

The researchers found 11 rare genetic variants spanning 10 genes, including previously unknown variants in two known Alzheimer’s risk genes.

“Identifying people at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease before they become symptomatic can lead to earlier and more effective interventions,” Miller said. “Additionally, our high-risk pedigree analysis methodology can be used to prioritize rare genetic variants that are likely contributing to disease.”

Miller says that while this finding will not have an immediate impact on patient care, they believe that identifying the genetic variants associated with the disease is the first step in identifying potential drug targets that can be used to develop drugs. treatments.

This work was funded by the National Institutes of Health, Huntsman Cancer Institute, Brigham Young University, University of Utah, National Cancer Institute, BrightFocus Foundation, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and was a collaboration with Brigham Young University, the University of Utah, and the Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Consortium.

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Material provided by University of Kentucky. Original written by Hillary Smith. Note: Content can be changed for style and length.