Gene discovery may explain why more women get Alzheimer's disease

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Scientists have identified a gene that appears to increase the risk of Alzheimer's in women, providing a potential new clue as to why more women than men are diagnosed with the disease

The gene, O6-Methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase, or MGMT, plays an important role in how the body repairs damage to DNA in both men and women. But researchers did not find an association between MGMT and Alzheimer's in men.

The APOE ε4 gene is considered the strongest risk factor for the future development of Alzheimer's in people over the age of 65, which is "especially true for women, who are more impacted by APOE ε4 than men," Isaacson said.don't develop Alzheimer's, while women without the gene may still develop the disease.

When the new association with MGMT popped up in her analysis, Ober reached out to Boston's Farrer to see if he might help replicate her findings.Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Consortium"I told her we'd found the exact same gene in our analysis," Farrer said. "Two different studies started independently of one another find by serendipity the same gene, which to me adds a lot of confidence that the finding is robust.

Considered an essential protein, a primary function of APOE is to "move cholesterol around in your body, and without that you'd be in trouble," Farrer said. However,

 

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