Recently, researchers have announced that they have identified two genetic factors that may make certain individuals more susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists have established that there is indeed a genetic component to Alzheimer’s, APOE, which is connected to early onset types of the illness. The researchers haven’t found out what the genes actually do, but the hope is that by studying the genes, doctors will be one step closer to putting the pieces of the Alzheimer’s puzzle together. Genes could be used to both determine risk factors and possibly provide treatment and prevention options for afflicted patients. Even before the results of this study were released, two other studies found two more areas of the human genome that are related to Alzheimer’s disease.
2 Genetic Factors Linked to Alzheimer's Disease
In Colombia, researchers have begun to study a family with a huge history of early-onset Alzheimer’s in hopes of learning more about the genetic component to the illness. The family, most of whom who live in the Antioquia region of Columbia, develop Alzheimer’s by their late 40s. In one immediate family, four children in one family have developed early Alzheimer’s symptoms in their forties. Scientists want to test treatments on these high-risk Columbians to see if the treatment will stop memory loss. Medication on the market right now does little to counteract the effects of current patients. By enrolling Colombians with the Paisa mutation and a corresponding group of Americans aged 60 to 80 years old, scientists hope that they will gain crucial understanding of the disease.
Yet another study in the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease has found that drinking apple juice might improve the moods of those stricken with Alzheimer’s. Researchers had Alzheimer’s patients drink two glasses of apple juice every day, noted a marked improvement in the patients’ behavior. Although the apple juice did not have a strong effect on their memory functions, patients’ anxiety and delusions were reduced. Although the study did not offer any ultimate cure to Alzheimer’s, the research did highlight the importance of diet to slowing the effects of the disease.
These three studies offer important insights to the mysterious, puzzling makeup of Alzheimer’s disease. By identifying risk factors, perhaps scientists will be able to uncover preventative treatments for the disease. Research about the links between nutrition and Alzheimer’s may also ease or slow down symptoms for people already affected.