Nature Medicine: Alzheimer's risk reaches 95% in elderly with 2 copies of APOE4 gene, study finds

Ninety-five percent of the elderly are carriers of two copes of the APOE4 gene, which indicates the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at the research and medical center of the Hospital of Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain came to this conclusion. The results of the research were published in the journal Nature Medicine.

It is widely accepted that carrying the APOE4 gene is the most powerful genetic factor that indicates the risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease. It is also known that if there are two copies of APOE4 in the genome, the probability of serious damage to cognitive abilities increases about 10 times.

In the framework of the new study, researchers studied the data of 3,297 people, including APOE4 carriers. It was found that by age 65, more than 95 percent of people with two copes of the APOE4 gene had abnormally elevated levels of amyloid in their bone marrow fluid. This change is an important pathological symptom of Alzheimer's disease; practical all people with two copes of this gene develop memory and attention disorders.

Based on the results, the researchers hypothesized that the APOE4-related cognitive decline is not a classic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, but a separate genetic disease. Additional research is needed to clarify its features and find effective treatment approaches.

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