In the largest genetic study of Alzheimer’s disease, Researchers from the University of Washington at the University of Washington in St. Louis and the University of California, San Francisco have found that genes that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease also increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Washington University School of Medicine. An international team of researchers led by Louis and the University of California, San Francisco, explored the DNA of more than 1.5 million people and increased the risk of cardiovascular disease and at the same time increased DNA dots. Risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

*A molecule normally linked with cardiovascular diseases *

Scientists have long been aware of the links between variations of the APOE gene involved in cholesterol and lipid metabolism and Alzheimer’s disease. It is known that this gene doubles the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in some patients and poses a risk of up to 12 times in others. In the new study, however, the researchers identified other DNA points, including both the risk of cardiovascular disease and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

The findings were published in Acta Neuropathologica on November 12th.

“These findings represent an opportunity to consider repurposing drugs that target pathways involved in lipid metabolism,” said Celeste M. Karch, assistant professor. Armed with these findings, we can begin to think about whether some of those drugs might be useful in preventing or delaying Alzheimer’s disease “Our study emphasizes that there’s much to learn about how genes driving Alzheimer’s disease risk also increase the risk for other health problems, particularly cardiovascular disease, and vice versa. So we really need to think about these risks more holistically.”

They examined the differences in the DNA of people with factors contributing to heart disease or Alzheimer’s disease, and identified 90 points throughout the genome associated with the risk for both diseases. Their analysis confirmed that six out of 90 regions had very strong effects on the elevated blood lipid levels, including Alzheimer’s and genes that were not previously associated with dementia risk. These included several points in the CELF1 / MTCH2 / SPI1 region on the chromosome 11 that had previously been linked to the immune system.

The researchers confirmed the most promising findings in a large genetic study for healthy adults, demonstrating that the same risk factors were more common in people with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease, even if they had not developed other symptoms such as dementia or memory loss.

They focus on specific risk factors for heart disease - including high body mass index, type 2 diabetes and high triglyceride and cholesterol levels (HDL, LDL and total cholesterol) - to see if any of these well-known risk factors for heart are present. was genetically related.

And Desikan said that although more research is needed, the new findings suggest that if the right genes and proteins could be targeted, it may be possible to lower the risk for Alzheimer’s disease in some people by managing their cholesterol and triglycerides.

Sources: University of Cambridge,Washington University in St. Louis