On 7 January, scientists published a range of new genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the journal nature genetics.
The collaborative effort was led by researchers from VU University Amsterdam, the University of Oslo and the Broad Institute in Boston, MA. In their article, the authors report on how they brought data from almost half a million samples (71,880 clinically diagnosed AD or AD-by-proxy as well as 383,378 controls) together for a subsequent analysis.
Their results suggest 29 genetic variants associated with AD (so called risk loci), thereby introducing 9 variants that were previously not linked to the disease. The scientists state that these genetic variants, which overall potentially implicate 215 potential causative genes, lead to a better understanding of the neurobiology of AD. These findings might be helpful to guide drug development in future.