Science Friday
How One Gene Affects Alzheimer’s Risk
This episode isn’t summarized yet
Create a free account and summarize it. In a few minutes you’ll have the key takeaways and a section-by-section summary.
Show notes
An estimated 500,000 people are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States each year, but the causes and mechanisms of the condition remain a neurological mystery. A recent study looked at the role of variants in a gene called APOE in Alzheimer’s, and found that while it’s not a simple determinant of developing the disease, that one gene seems to play a significant role in promoting disease risk. Researchers hope work like this could point to new areas to study and even potential treatments.
Epidemiologist Dylan Williams joins Host Ira Flatow to explain the findings and discuss the challenges in tracing a complex disease to its roots.
Guest: Dr. Dylan Williams is a principal research fellow in molecular and genetic epidemiology at University College London.
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.
Subscribe to this podcast. Follow us on socials @ scifri on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Bluesky and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.