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Family History and APOE-4 Genetic Risk in Alzheimer’s Disease

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Abstract

Identifying risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, such as carrying the APOE-4 allele, and understanding their contributions to disease pathophysiology or clinical presentation is critical for establishing and improving diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. A first-degree family history of Alzheimer’s disease represents a composite risk factor, which reflects the influence of known and unknown susceptibility genes and perhaps non-genetic risks. There is emerging evidence that investigating family history risk associated effects may contribute to advances in Alzheimer’s disease research and ultimately clinical practice.

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Funding

Supported by NIH grant P01-AG025831, AG13308, P50 AG 16570, MH/AG58156, MH52453; AG10123; M01-RR00865, General Clinical Research Centers Program; the Fran and Ray Stark Foundation Fund for Alzheimer's Disease Research; the Sence Foundation; and the McMahan Foundation.

Financial Disclosures

The University of California, Los Angeles, owns a U.S. patent (6,274,119) entitled “Methods for Labeling b-Amyloid Plaques and Neurofibrillary Tangles,” and Dr. Small is among the inventors, has received royalties, and may receive royalties on future sales. Dr. Small reports having served as a consultant and/or having received lecture fees from Dakim, Forest, Lilly, and Novartis. Dr. Small also reports having received stock options from Dakim. Drs. Bookheimer and Donix report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307, Dresden, Germany

    Markus Donix

  2. DZNE, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Dresden, Germany

    Markus Donix

  3. David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Center for Cognitive Neurosciences, Semel Institute, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Susan Y. Bookheimer

  4. David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Gary W. Small & Susan Y. Bookheimer

  5. Department of Psychology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Susan Y. Bookheimer

  6. UCLA Longevity Center, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Gary W. Small

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  1. Markus Donix
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  2. Gary W. Small
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  3. Susan Y. Bookheimer
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Correspondence to Markus Donix.

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Donix, M., Small, G.W. & Bookheimer, S.Y. Family History and APOE-4 Genetic Risk in Alzheimer’s Disease. Neuropsychol Rev 22, 298–309 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-012-9193-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-012-9193-2

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