14 DAY TRIAL // It is known that having a family history of Alzheimer's means that you have a higher risk of developing the disease, but which of your parents has the disorder is very important, according to a new research carried out by Dr Lisa Mosconi, of the New York University School of Medicine, and colleagues.
Patients suffering from Alzheimer's have altered cerebrospinal fluid proteins, so the researchers thought that the best way to evaluate the risk of the disorder in healthy, cognitively normal people, was to measure these proteins.
So they compared subjects with no family history of the disease with individuals that had either a maternal or a paternal history of Alzheimer's.
The results were clear: only those that had their mothers suffering from Alzheimer's had altered levels of amyloid – a protein known to be a marker of the disease, as well as proteins linked to oxidative stress, like free radicals that are dangerous for the brain and for the rest of the body.
On the other hand, people whose fathers suffered from the disorder had the same normal protein levels like those with no family history of Alzheimer's.
Dr Mosconi, the first author of the study explained that their “data indicate that adult children of mothers with Alzheimer's may be at increased risk for developing the disease.
“It is therefore extremely important to understand the genetic mechanisms involved in maternal transmission of Alzheimer's disease, which are currently unknown.
“Identifying a genetic predictor for the disease might lead to preventive treatments years before the onset of clinical symptoms."
Alzheimer’s disease is the most frequent form of dementia in late-life, currently affecting over 5 million people in the United States alone.
The disease is incurable for now, so it is very important to keep working on preventative treatments, and for this, researchers must be able to identify individuals who are at highest risk of developing it.
Having a parental history of the disease is known to increase the risks but the exact genetic and biological mechanisms remain unknown.
Genomic imprinting seems to be an important factor, as the pattern of the inherited disease can be different depending on whether the genes came from the mother or the father.
Imprinting is a type of epigenetic regulation, which means that the changes in gene functioning are not caused by altered sequences of DNA, but rather by regulatory mechanisms.
“This study is very important because we are just beginning to understand the epigenetic control of particular genes,” added Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry.
“In theory, some day, one might develop a medication that reduces the risks associated with a maternal history of Alzheimer's disease.”
The researchers stressed that additional follow-up research is absolutely necessary before drawing any conclusions.
This new study appears in Biological Psychiatry.