CTVNews.ca Staff Published Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012 10:00PM EST Last Updated Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012 9:24AM EST

A rare mutation of a gene thats normally linked to inflammation could triple the risk of Alzheimers disease, according to new research from an international team of scientists.

Less than 1 per cent of the population has the gene variant, called TREM2. Scientists hope that by studying the gene they will better understand how Alzheimers attacks the brain -- and find a way to stop it.

Their findings were published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

About 30 million people around the world have Alzheimers, and that number is expected to rise to 35 million in the next three years.

The incurable disease first destroys the minds ability to remember. Over time, as brain cells are attacked, symptoms worsen and patients lose more of their mental abilities until they are entirely dependent on caregivers.

Until now, its been commonly thought that the disease is caused by Amyloid plaques -- a sticky, toxic material. Based on this theory, pharmaceutical companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars testing medications to treat Alzheimers, but most attempts have failed clinical studies.

The new research suggests those experimental treatments were pointed in the wrong direction, and that TREM2s role suggests inflammation could be the main culprit.

What we are now finding out from genetic study is that inflammation is an important part of the disease itself, Dr. Peter St. George-Hyslop of the University of Toronto told CTV News. It starts early, and it is part of the way the disease actually happens.

TREM2 has been previously linked to other forms of dementia, and was first found by researchers with Iceland-based deCODE Genetics Inc., who mapped the genetic code of 2,200 people.

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Gene variant could play central role in Alzheimer's disease

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