Study finds common gene variant that doubles dementia risk for men
A team of Australian researchers from Curtin University have identified a common genetic variant that doubles the risk of dementia in men
- NEW DELHI — Australian researchers have identified a common genetic variant
that doubles the risk of dementia in men.
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- The team from Curtin University said that one in three
people carry one copy of the variant, known as H63D, while one in 36 carry two
copies.
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- The research, published in the journal Neurology, found
that men who carry a double H63D variant are twice as likely to develop
dementia in their lifetime compared to women.
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- The study, based on 19,114 healthy older people in
Australia and the US, investigated whether people who had variants in the
hemochromatosis (HFE) gene, which is critical for regulating iron levels in the
body, might be at increased risk of dementia.
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- "Having just one copy of this gene variant does not
impact someone's health or increase their risk of dementia. However, having two
copies of the variant more than doubled the risk of dementia in men, but not
women," said Professor John Olynyk, from the Curtin Medical School.
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- "While the genetic variant itself cannot be changed,
the brain pathways which it affects -- leading to the damage that causes
dementia -- could potentially be treated if we understood more about it,"
Olynyk added.
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- Professor Olynyk said further research was needed to
investigate why this genetic variant increased the risk of dementia for males
but not females.
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- "The HFE gene is routinely tested for in most
Western countries, including Australia, when assessing people for
hemochromatosis -- a disorder that causes the body to absorb too much iron. Our
findings suggest that perhaps this testing could be offered to men more
broadly," Olynyk said.
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- While the HFE gene is critical for controlling iron
levels in the body, the team found no direct link between iron levels in the
blood and increased dementia risk in affected men.
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- "This points to other mechanisms at play, possibly
involving the increased risk of brain injury from inflammation and cell damage
in the body," Olynyk said.
