Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Genetic Research / 22.06.2017
Gene Linked To Decreased Plasma Amyloid and Lower Alzheimer’s Disease Risk
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Mikko Hiltunen, PhD
Professor of Tissue and Cell Biology
University of Eastern Finland
School of Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine
Kuopio, Finland
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: We wanted to assess among the population-based METSIM (METabolic Syndrome In Men) cohort whether protective variant in APP gene (APP A673T) affects the beta-amyloid levels in plasma. The rationale behind this was that previous genetic studies have discovered that the APP A673T variant decreases the risk of having Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
However, the protective functional outcome measures related to this variant were lacking and thus we anticipated that the elucidation of plasma samples in terms of beta-amyloid levels would provide the much needed link between APP A673T variant and potential protective functions.
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