TGen, Kronos take on Alzheimer's

In tandem with Kronos Optimal Health Company, the Translational Genomics Research Institute is undertaking a $6 million investigation into potential genetic factors that could trigger Alzheimer's disease, a degenerative neurological disorder that affects 4.5 million Americans today.

By analyzing nearly 600,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) along the genomes of 1,000 affected and 1,000 non-affected cadavers, TGen researchers hope to discover genes that have predictive value in determining whether an individual is likely to get Alzheimer's as he or she ages.

Dietrich Stephan, one of the principal investigators on the project and head of the neurogenomics division at TGen, told the Arizona Republic that more than two-thirds of all Alzheimer's patients are believed to be genetically predisposed to the disorder. Three genes have already been identified with Alzheimer's by other research teams, but TGen and Kronos hope to discover the missing links.

"This is how all common human diseases are going to be approached in the next decade," Stephan told the Business Journal of the comprehensive genomic scan. The project is expected to take up to two years.

Eventually, Stephan and Eric Reiman, his co-principal investigator and director of Arizona Alzheimer's Disease Consortium, hope that the collaborative project will yield a diagnostic test for prospective Alzheimer's patients and perhaps preventative therapies.

As part of the collaborative contract, Kronos will retain rights to any intellectual property that the study generates.

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For more information:

"TGen, Kronos in Alzheimer's Hunt," Arizona Republic, 2/24/2005

TGen, Kronos to embark on $6M genetic study," Business Journal, 2/23/2005

TGen press release