RESUMEN
Reduction in hippocampal and amygdala volume measured via structural magnetic resonance imaging is an early marker of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Whether genetic risk factors for AD exert an effect on these subcortical structures independent of clinical status has not been fully investigated. We examine whether increased genetic risk for AD influences hippocampal and amygdala volumes in case-control and population cohorts at different ages, in 1674 older (aged >53 years; 17% AD, 39% mild cognitive impairment [MCI]) and 467 young (16-30 years) adults. An AD polygenic risk score combining common risk variants excluding apolipoprotein E (APOE), and a single nucleotide polymorphism in TREM2, were both associated with reduced hippocampal volume in healthy older adults and those with MCI. APOE ε4 was associated with hippocampal and amygdala volume in those with AD and MCI but was not associated in healthy older adults. No associations were found in young adults. Genetic risk for AD affects the hippocampus before the clinical symptoms of AD, reflecting a neurodegenerative effect before clinical manifestations in older adults.
Asunto(s)
Enfermedad de Alzheimer/genética , Enfermedad de Alzheimer/patología , Amígdala del Cerebelo/patología , Estudios de Asociación Genética , Hipocampo/patología , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Enfermedad de Alzheimer/diagnóstico por imagen , Amígdala del Cerebelo/diagnóstico por imagen , Apolipoproteínas E/genética , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Disfunción Cognitiva/diagnóstico por imagen , Disfunción Cognitiva/genética , Disfunción Cognitiva/patología , Estudios de Cohortes , Femenino , Hipocampo/diagnóstico por imagen , Humanos , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética , Masculino , Glicoproteínas de Membrana/genética , Persona de Mediana Edad , Receptores Inmunológicos/genética , Riesgo , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
Alzheimer's disease (AD) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are both neurodegenerative disorders which share common pathological and biochemical features of the complement pathway. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is an association between well replicated AMD genetic risk factors and AD. A large cohort of AD (n = 3898) patients and controls were genotyped for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the complement factor H (CFH), the Age-related maculopathy susceptibility protein 2 (ARMS2) the complement component 2 (C2), the complement factor B (CFB), and the complement component 3 (C3) genes. While significant but modest associations were identified between the complement factor H, the age-related maculopathy susceptibility protein 2, and the complement component 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms and AD, these were different in direction or genetic model to that observed in AMD. In addition the multilocus genetic model that predicts around a half of the sibling risk for AMD does not predict risk for AD. Our study provides further support to the hypothesis that while activation of the alternative complement pathway is central to AMD pathogenesis, it is less involved in AD.
