| 1. |
- Rademakers, R, et al.
(author)
-
Association of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 and neuronal activators p35 and p39 complex in early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
- 2005
-
In: Neurobiology of Aging. - New York : Elsevier BV. - 0197-4580 .- 1558-1497. ; 26:8, s. 1145-1151
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Malfunctioning of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) through aberrant proteolytic cleavage of its neuronal activators p35 and p39 is involved in neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative brain diseases. By extensive genetic analysis of the genes encoding CDK5 (CDK5), p35 (CDK5R1) and p39 (CDK5R2), we excluded causal mutations in 70 familial early-onset AD patients. We performed an association study with five informative SNPs in CDK5 in two independent samples of early-onset AD patients and matched control individuals from The Netherlands and northern Sweden. Association was observed with g.149800G>C in intron 5 of CDK5, and a two times increased risk was observed in both patient samples for carriers of the C-allele. Our data are indicative for a role of the CDK5 molecular complex in the genetic etiology of early-onset AD, and suggest that a yet unknown functional variant in CDK5 or in a nearby gene might lead to increased susceptibility for early-onset AD.
|
|
| 2. |
- Persson, J, et al.
(author)
-
Altered brain white-matter integrity in non-demented carriers of the APOE ε4 allele: A risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
- 2006
-
In: Neurology. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0028-3878 .- 1526-632X. ; 66:7, s. 1029-1033
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous research has shown that polymorphisms of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) represent genetic risk factors for dementia and for cognitive impairment in the elderly. The neural mechanisms by which these genetic variations influence behavioral performance or clinical severity are not well understood. We used diffusion tensor imaging to investigate ultrastructural properties in brain white-matter to detect pathological processes that modify tissue integrity. Sixty participants were included in the study of which 30 were homozygous for the APOE ε3 allele, 10 were homozygous for the APOE ε4 allele, and 20 had the APOE ε34 allele combination. All individuals were non-demented, and the groups were matched on demographic variables and cognitive performance. The results showed a decline in fractional anisotropy, a marker for white-matter integrity, in the posterior corpus callosum of ε4 carriers compared to non-carriers. Additional sites of altered white-matter integrity included the medial temporal lobe. Conclusions: Although the mechanism underlying vulnerability of white matter tracts in APOE ε4 carriers is still unknown, our findings suggest that increased genetic risk for developing AD is associated with changes in microscopic white-matter integrity well before the onset of dementia.
|
|
