title: Unraveling the biological mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease--lessons from genomics.
abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and the most common neurodegenerative disease, with a complex genetic background. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have yielded important new insights into genetic mechanisms of AD pathology. Current results unequivocally confirm apolipoprotein E (APOE) as a major genetic risk factor for development of late onset AD. Additional associations of more than twenty genes have also been identified and replicated in subsequent genetic studies. Despite the exciting new GWAS data which have emerged in the last few years, it has become clear that common variants within the genome cannot fully explain the underlying genetic risk for AD. Novel approaches such as genome-wide analysis of copy number variations (CNV) or low-frequency rare functional gene variants may provide additional insight into genetic basis of AD. In this review we summarize the findings of eighteen GWAS studies in AD performed to date, with an emphasis on potential future developments in the quest for genetic risk factors of AD.
authors.affiliation: Department for Functional Genomics, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Croatia. fbor@mef.hr
authors.forename: Fran
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Borovecki
authors.forename: Natasa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Klepac
authors.forename: Dorotea
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Muck-Seler
authors.forename: Sanja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hajnsek
authors.forename: Zdenko
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mubrin
authors.forename: Nela
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pivac
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000235:genetics*; D018628:Gene Dosage; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D023281:Genomics; D006801:Humans; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide