Genetic Mutation Associated with Famous Alzheimer Patient May Have Been Identified

	Tweet

Writing the latest pages of an anthropological mystery, scientists propose in this month’s Archives of Neurology that it is highly possible that Auguste Deter, the first identified Alzheimer disease patient, carried the N141I presenilin-2 mutation—the same one as in present-day U.S. families descended from German emigrants who settled near the river Volga in Russia.

Based on new molecular genetic data, Thomas Bird, University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues suggest that Volga German descendents and a present-day German family living in Deter’s home state, Hesse, share this PS2 mutation, as well as a chunk of chromosome 1 surrounding it. “This means it is extremely likely they have a common ancestor,” Bird told ARF. “We think there is interesting circumstantial evidence—historical, social, geographic, and genetic—that Alzheimer’s original patient might also have had this mutation.”

The Alzheimer Research Forum (http://www.alzforum.org), founded in 1996, is the web’s most dynamic scientific community dedicated to understanding Alzheimer disease and related disorders. 

Access to the web site is free to all. The Forum’s editorial priorities are as diverse as the needs of the research community. The web site reports on the latest scientific findings, from basic research to clinical trials; creates and maintains public databases of essential research data and reagents; and produces discussion forums to promote debate, speed the dissemination of new ideas, and break down barriers across the numerous disciplines that can contribute to the global effort to cure Alzheimer’s disease.

The ARF team of professional science writers and editors, information technology experts, web developers and producers all work closely with its distinguished and diverse Advisory Board to ensure a high quality of information and services. The Alzheimer Research Forum is an independent nonprofit organization supported by grants and individual donations. The web site does not endorse any specific product or scientific approach.

---
Source:  Alzheimer Research Forum Foundation

RELATED STORIES:
Childhood music lessons may provide lifelong boost in brain functioning   Antibodies may help Alzheimer’s, study finds   Complex work may help ward off Alzheimer’s   How are stroke and transient ischemic attackes diagnosed?   Vaccine to treat Alzheimer’s effective and safe   Dopamine controls formation of new brain cells   Gene Therapy Treatment to Combat Parkinson’s Disease   Indications of Alzheimer’s Disease May Be Evident Decades Before First Signs of Cognitive Impairment   Study finds shingles may be related to elevated risk of multiple sclerosis   Smokeless tobacco increases risk of heart attack and stroke   Study will delve into oral health, memory link   Combinatorial therapy elicits spinal cord regeneration more than a year after injury

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]