HealthDay News reported that researchers have pinpointed a gene variant that nearly doubles the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, a new study says.

A U.S. research team examined gene variations across the human genome and found that about 9 percent of those with late-onset Alzheimer’s had a specific variation in the gene MTHFD1L on chromosome 6, according to the study. Only about 5 percent of those who did not have Alzheimer’s had the variant. Late-onset Alzheimer’s, which affects those 60 and up, is the most common form of the brain disorder.

With the number of people with Alzheimer’s expected to nearly double from 18 million worldwide to 34 million by 2025, according to the World Health Organization, researchers have been hunting for genes that play a role in Alzheimer’s disease. The hope is that understanding the function of the genes could help in developing better treatments, which are sorely lacking.

While lots of genetic variants have been singled out as possible contributors to Alzheimer’s, the findings often can’t be replicated or repeated, leaving researchers unsure if the results are a coincidence or actually important, said Dr. Ron Peterson, director of the Mayo Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Rochester, Minn.

“The strength of his study is it includes a large number of subjects, they looked at a large number of [DNA sequence variations], and they replicated previously reported findings, which gives you confidence that they are correct,” Peterson said.

Source: HealthDay