Scientists from the research center Applied Medical (CIMA) and the Clínica Universidad de Navarra participate in the international consortium IGAP (International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project), which has identified 11 new genes associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). This finding doubles the issue of genetic risk factors for developing this pathology and represents a breakthrough in the knowledge of the instructions genetics of dementia. The results have been published in the international journal Nature Genetics.

The research has had the largest sample of subjects used so far for the study of the molecular instructions of AD. Specifically, the genome of 74,046 Alzheimer's disease patients and healthy individuals was analyzed by applying high-resolution genomic and bioinformatics techniques.

The researchers were able to isolate four genes related to AD in the first phase of project and another seven in the second phase of the study. "The function of some of these genes is related to molecular mechanisms altered in Alzheimer's disease, such as the beta-amyloid peptide production cascade or synaptic transmission. Their identification translates into new potential targets for pharmacological research to cure AD," explains Dr. Pau Pastor, researcher of Neurology at CIMA and Clínica Universidad de Navarra.

According to manager of group, "the leading role played by national scientific groups in this multicenter study reflects the capacity of our country to generate scientific work of worldwide scope. Likewise, a better understanding of the genetic component of the disease will help in the near future to classify patients individually and personalize effective treatments".

70 million sick people in 2030

AD is the most common cause of dementia. According to the World Health Organization, 35.6 million people suffer from AD and other types of dementia worldwide today. Forecasts estimate that the issue number of sufferers will double by 2030 and triple by 2050, reaching more than 100 million people.

Investment in research is essential to understand the mechanisms that combine and interrelate in the triggering of the disease and its sequential development to find an effective treatment.

IGAP Consortium

The international IGAP consortium is formed by a high participation of Spanish public and private research centers, through the Spanish Consortium of Genetics of Dementias (DEGESCO). It is a project jointly promoted by a dozen groups belonging to the research center Biomedica en network of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED) and the National Health System.