The Power of Biobanks

Category: Alzheimers Disease

Where You Live Could Affect Alzheimer’s Risk

Where you live matters in terms of Alzheimer’s disease risk. An emerging body of research is identifying counties and neighborhoods with higher prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease, which affects 5.8 million people and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. Researchers in the field of aging are seeking to find out if those locations have common risk factors associated with Alzheimer’s and if any of those risk factors can be reduced. A new report by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s and the Urban Institute looked at the 25 counties across the U.S. with the highest incidence of Alzheimer’s and found that lower education, lower access to exercise, and higher poverty rates corresponded with the higher rates.

View Article

Genetic Changes Preceding Alzheimer’s Could Lead to Preventive Therapies

Scientists have identified a series of changes in gene expression that appear to predict the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania studied changes in RNA, proteomic profiles, and epigenomics in postmortem brains to identify molecular pathways involved in the neurogenerative disease. Their results, published in the journal Nature Genetics, found that the development of Alzheimer’s involves a reconfiguration of the epigenome. The scientists suspect the discovery could lead to the development of epigenetic strategies for early-stage treatment or prevention of the neurogenerative disease.

View Article

English