Scientists in London have identified a type of genetic mutation that appears to protect against late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
For their paper, published in the Annals of Human Genetics, the researchers studied DNA samples taken from more than 10,000 people. They identified a class of gene mutations—or variants—that they said appear to protect a pathway critical for cell survival.
Calling his team’s results “quite encouraging,” study author David Curtis from the University College of London Genetics Institute said that the genetic variations his team identified “make Alzheimer’s disease less likely to develop.”
“Drugs which have the same effect might also be protective,” Curtis said in a news release.
Read more from Being Patient.
