A gene linked to Alzheimer's has been linked to brain changes in childhood. This gene, SORL1, has two connections to Alzheimer’s: it carries the code for the sortilin-like receptor, which is involved in recycling some molecules before they develop into amyloid-beta; it is also involved in lipid metabolism, putting it at the heart of the vascular risk pathway.
Analysis of data from 237 patients with mild cognitive impairment (mean age 79.9) has found that, compared to those carrying the ‘normal’ ApoE3 gene (the most common variant of the ApoE gene), the ApoE4 carriers showed markedly greater rates of shrinkage in 13 of 15 brain regions thought to be key components of the brain networks disrupted in Alzheimer’s.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-01/rson-gva010714.php
Two studies indicate that young people carrying the “Alzheimer’s gene” (ApoE4) do not have the pathological changes found later in life. The first study, involving 1412 adolescents, found no differences in hippocampal volume or asymmetry as a function of gene status. The second study, involving 173 young adults (average age, 28 ± 7.6 years), found no difference in plasma concentrations of amyloid-beta peptides.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-04/ip-neo040614.php
Analysis of data from more than 8,000 people, most of them older than 60, has revealed that, among the 5,000 people initially tested cognitively normal, carrying one copy of the “Alzheimer’s gene” (ApoE4) only slightly increased men’s risk of developing MCI or Alzheimer’s — but nearly doubled women’s risk (healthy men with APOE4 were 27% more likely to develop MCI or Alzheimer’s compared to those without the gene, while female carriers had an 81% greater risk).
Analysis of 700 subjects from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative has revealed a genetic mutation (rs4728029) that’s associated with people who develop Alzheimer’s pathology but don’t show clinical symptoms in their lifetime. The gene appears to be related to an inflammatory response in the presence of phosphorylated tau. In other words, some people’s brains react to phosphorylated tau with a ‘bad’ inflammatory response, while others don’t.
Data from 848 adults of all ages has found that brain volume in the default mode network declined in both healthy and pathological aging, but the greatest decline occurred in Alzheimer’s patients and in those who progressed from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s disease. Reduced brain volumes in these regions were associated with declines in cognitive ability, the presence of Alzheimer’s biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid, and with carrying the “Alzheimer’s gene”, the APOE4 allele.
Data from 70 older adults (average age 76) in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging has found that those who reported poorer sleep (shorter sleep duration and lower sleep quality) showed a greater buildup of amyloid-beta plaques.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/tjnj-lsa101813.php
A new discovery helps explain why the “Alzheimer’s gene” ApoE4 is such a risk factor. It appears that ApoE4 causes a dramatic reduction in SirT1, an "anti-aging protein" that is targeted by resveratrol (present in red wine). This reduction in SirT1 was associated with a change in the way the amyloid precursor protein (APP) was processed. Moreover, there was evidence that ‘bad’ tau and amyloid-beta could be prevented by increasing SirT1.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/bifa-mar101613.php
We know that the E4 variant of the APOE gene greatly increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, but the reason is a little more mysterious. It has been thought that it makes it easier for amyloid plaques to form because it produces a protein that binds to amyloid beta. However, a new study shows that APOE and amyloid beta don’t bind together in cerebrospinal fluid and in fluids present outside cells grown in dishes, making it unlikely that they are binding together in the brain.
A study involving nearly 6,000 African American older adults has found those with a specific gene variant have almost double the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease compared with African Americans who lack the variant. The size of the effect is comparable to that of the ‘Alzheimer’s gene’, APOE-e4.
The gene (ABCA7) is involved in the production of cholesterol and lipids. It also affects the transport of several important proteins, including amyloid precursor protein, which is involved in the production of amyloid-beta.