TGen and Banner find link to Alzheimer's

Scientists at the Translational Genomics Research Institute and Banner Alzheimer's Institute have identified a gene that could help better predict a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

The gene, called GAB2, seems to affect the odds that some people will get the disease. Its discovery could mean better diagnostics and treatment for Alzheimer's.

"This is a major breakthrough in Alzheimer's genetic research that will have an impact on the clinical treatment of the disease," Dr. Dietrich Stephan, director of TGen's neurogenomics division, told Arizona Republic.

The project was a collaboration between TGen and Banner, funded primarily by Kronos Science Laboratory in Phoenix. In return, Kronos received the intellectual property rights from the study. The company is currently seeking patent protection for the finding.

"I tend to be a skeptic, but at this point, it looks very encouraging," Kronos President Christopher Heward told Arizona Republic. "It looks like we may have found a modifier of Alzheimer's disease risk, and it may lead to our ability to develop a better test for Alzheimer's disease."

According to Banner Alzheimer's Institute, about 78,000 Arizonans suffered from Alzheimer's in 2000, a number expected to reach 130,000 by 2025.

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For more information:

"Ariz. Team identifies a link to Alzheimer's," Arizona Republic, 07/07/2007