Icelandic People More Likely to Carry Novel Rare Genetic Variant Linked to Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a mental disease that many people dread, especially as they grow older. The disease is known as a progressive disorder that causes mental deterioration. It directly attacks the brain and cause various unpleasant symptoms. The disease is often associated with older people, but can develop in younger people as well. A new study, published on the 14th of October 2016, suggests that individuals with an Icelandic heritage may also be at a higher risk of developing this disease due to a rare mutation of a specific gene. This evidence was recorded after the research team conducted a thorough investigation on more than 1,000 different patients who have been diagnosed with the disease and by looking at numerous types of genes that are found in the human body.

The Impact Of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease can disrupt the lives of individuals who have been diagnosed with the disease. The disease causes a progressive deterioration of the brain, which causes numerous symptoms to develop. These symptoms all relate to the brain and mental capability of the patient and may include mild to severe symptoms, depending on the stage of the disease and the rate at which it progresses. The National Institutes of Health reports that the most common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages include getting lost easily, problems paying bills and dealing with money, frequently repeating the same questions, taking a longer time to complete tasks that usually doesn’t take as long and sudden changes in behavior. They also report that Alzheimer’s disease is usually diagnosed during early stages, which means treatment can follow in order to help prevent the disease from spreading too quickly.

They also report that, should the disease become more severe, it may also cause more alarming symptoms, which may include:

• Being unable to communicate with others.
• Infections on the skin.
• Frequently making sounds such as grunting or moaning.
• Sleeping more than usually.
• Unable to control the bladder or bowel movements.
• Impulsive behavior.
• Paranoia, accompanied by delusions and hallucinations.
• Prevalence of Alzheimer’s Disease

The Alzheimer’s Association reports that more than five million individuals in the United States are currently living with diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease. They also report that as much as 33% of the elderly dies with Alzheimer’s disease or another diagnosed dementia. Alzheimer’s is also the 6th most common cause of death within the United States and a new case of this disease develops every 66 seconds in the country. These figures provide proof that Alzheimer’s disease is already a common condition and affects millions of people, as well as their families and loved ones.

Read More: Connection Between Brain Injury And Memory Loss

Alzheimer’s Disease and Icelandic People

A recent study, completed in October 2016, found evidence that Icelandic people might be at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than people who does not have an Icelandic heritage. The study was led by Johanna Jakobsdottir from the Icelandic Heart Association. She was also accompanied by Sven van der Lee from the Erasmus University, located in Rotterdam, as well as a couple of colleagues. During the study, the team of researchers monitored details of 1,393 patients who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. All of these patients had a late-onset of the disease. The study also included the observation of 11,000 different genes.

After the initial research was completed, the researchers discovered that a certain gene, specifically TM2D3, were more common in certain patients. The study linked this specific gene to the development of Alzheimer’s disease at an earlier age, as well as a generally higher risk of developing the disease. After further research was conducted, the team also found that the TM2D3 gene was approximately 10 times more common in people with Icelandic heritage. They do report that the gene mutation is still very rare among Icelandic people and those with Icelandic heritage, with less than 1% of these people carrying the gene, but the study still provided new insight into the connection between this gene mutation, Icelandic heritage and the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

In order to further analyze the specific gene that was found to increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, the research team conduced an experiment where the TM2D3 gene was substituted for a gene equivalent to a fly gene. The experiment provided evidence that the TM2D3 gene interfered with the Notch signaling abilities of the fruit fly models.

Conclusion

Many diseases are often associated with old age, such as osteoarthritis and Alzheimer’s disease. These diseases can, however, also affect people at a younger age and in such cases these diseases are often caused by certain genetics. The new findings by Johanna Jakobsdottir and her team provided proof of such a case, where a rare gene mutation, known as TM2D3, was found to increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s and may also cause the disease to develop at an early age. They also found that Icelandic people had the highest prevalence of this gene.

References

• https://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/topics/symptoms
• http://www.alz.org/facts/