In the United States, black Americans are more affected than whites from the late form of Alzheimer’s disease. Does this mean people of color are at higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease? This is what researchers at Columbia Medical School in New York wanted to know by studying genetic mutations in this population. The results of their study of 6,000 black Americans were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In the monitored panel, 2,000 people developed the disease.
Researchers have found that the variant of a specific gene doubles the risk in black people. “The ABCA7 gene undoubtedly reveals a genetic risk of Alzheimer’s disease in black Americans,” says Dr. Richard Mayeux, professor of neurology at Columbia School of Medicine in New York, the main author of this work. “ABCA7 is the first gene of major importance implicated in the late form of Alzheimer’s among black Americans,” adds Dr. Christiane Reitz, professor of neurology at the same university. This gene would run “a risk of developing the disease comparable to the APOE-e4 gene in whites, known for two decades”.
Alzheimer’s: excess cholesterol involved?
What is this famous ABCA7 gene used for? Scientists are still wondering. One thing is certain, this gene is involved in the production of cholesterol and lipids. But blacks suffer more from cholesterol problems and of overweight than whites in the United States. This imbalance would promote the ABCA7 gene and therefore the greater vulnerability to Alzheimer’s disease in black Americans.
>> To read also: We can detect Alzheimer’s disease with a genetic test
