Genetic link to late onset Alzheimers Disease
Is there a genetic link to late onset Alzheimers Disease?
The risk for late onset familial Alzheimers Disease is linked to chromosome 19.
It has been demonstrated that the particular inherited form of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) (coded by a gene on chromosome 19) determines the age-dependent risk and age of onset of Alzheimers Disease in some patients.
Patients who inherit one or more E4 alleles are at greater risk, but only about 50% of Alzheimers Disease patients have E4.
Other families have been linked to variant forms of TOMM40, a mitochondrial transport protein on chromosome 19.
These gene associations likely represent inherited risk factors rather than genetic forms of Alzheimers Disease.
