Meeri Kim’s article in the Columbia University Irving Medical Center Newsroom on our recent collaborative study with Dr. Annie Lee, Dr. Badri Vardarajan and Dr. Richard Mayeux.
For more than 20 years, scientists have known that people with hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, or obesity have a higher likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
The conditions can all affect the brain, damaging blood vessels and leading to strokes. But the connection between vascular disease in the brain and Alzheimer’s has remained unexplained despite the intense efforts of researchers.
Now, a study(link is external and opens in a new window) led by researchers at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons has uncovered a possible mechanism. The study found a gene called FMNL2 links cerebrovascular disease and Alzheimer’s and suggests changes in FMNL2 activity caused by cerebrovascular disease prevent the efficient clearance of toxic proteins from the brain, eventually leading to Alzheimer’s disease.
Image credit: Columbia University Irving Medical Center Newsroom
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