Key Alzheimer’s gene acts differently in non-Europeans

Newswise — Researchers looking to uncover the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease have revealed new insights from old variants.

A gene called apolipoprotein E (APOE), long implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, has two variants that act differently among Caribbean Hispanics depending on the ancestral origin, according to a study published in Alzheimer’s and Dementiathe journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

In this study, individuals with African-derived ancestry in their APOE gene had 39 percent lower odds of Alzheimer’s than did  individuals with European-derived APOE.

“It’s the same variant but behaving differently,” said lead author Elizabeth Blue, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Medical…

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