On May 6th, 2024, Nature published research co-authored by 2003 AFAR Beeson Scholar Reisa Sperling, MD on the genetic variant APOE4 that may cause certain types of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Sperling provided further insights in The New York Times and Smithsonian Magazine articles exploring this research.
The Abstract in Nature states:
“This study aimed to evaluate the impact of APOE4 homozygosity on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by examining its clinical, pathological and biomarker changes to see whether APOE4 homozygotes constitute a distinct, genetically determined form of AD… The predictability of symptom onset and the sequence of biomarker changes in APOE4 homozygotes mirrored those in autosomal dominant AD and Down syndrome. However, in the dementia stage, there were no differences in amyloid or tau positron emission tomography across haplotypes, despite earlier clinical and biomarker changes.”
Dr. Sperling is a 2003 Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Award in Aging recipient.
Read “APOE4 homozygozity represents a distinct genetic form of Alzheimer’s disease” here.
Read the New York Times article “Study Suggests Genetics as a Cause, Not Just a Risk, for Some Alzheimer’s” here.
Read the Smithsonian Magazine article “Almost All People With Two Copies of This Genetic Variant Develop Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease, Study Finds” here.
