Icelandic genetic research company deCODE together with scientists from the Landsptali National University Hospital of Iceland and researchers in Holland, Germany and the United States have discovered a second gene variant to confer a high risk of acquiring the more common, late-onset of Alzheimers disease.

The variant was also found to predict poorer cognitive function in older individuals who do not have Alzheimers disease. The results of the research were published in the New English Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.

According to CEO of deCODE and lead author Kri Stefnsson, the results will provide new focus for drug development. The discovery of variant TREM2 is important because it confers high risk for Alzheimers and because the genes normal biological function has been shown to reduce immune response that may contribute to the disease. These combined factors make TREM2 an attractive target for drug development, he said.

The researchers obtained the genome sequences of 2,261 Icelanders and identified sequence variants that were likely to affect protein function.

ZR

Original post:
Icelandic Genetic Research Company Find Alzheimer’s Gene Variant

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