Pathology supported genetic testing and treatment of cardiovascular disease in middle age for prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

ABSTRACT: Chronic, multi-factorial conditions caused by a complex interaction between genetic and environmental risk factors frequently share common disease mechanisms, as evidenced by an overlap between genetic risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in several genes including ApoE, MTHFR, HFE and FTO are known to increase the risk of both conditions. The E4 allele of the ApoE polymorphism is the most extensively studied risk factor for AD and increases the risk of coronary heart disease by approximately 40%. It furthermore displays differential therapeutic responses with use of cholesterol-lowering statins and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, which may also be due to variation in the CYP2D6 gene in some patients. Disease ex

SUBMITTER: Kotze MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3429783 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature