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Alzheimer's disease risk gene, GAB2, is associated with regional brain volume differences in 755 young healthy twins.

ABSTRACT: The development of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) is under strong genetic control and there is great interest in the genetic variants that confer increased risk. The Alzheimer's disease risk gene, growth factor receptor bound protein 2-associated protein (GAB2), has been shown to provide a 1.27-1.51 increased odds of developing LOAD for rs7101429 major allele carriers, in case-control analysis. GAB2 is expressed across the brain throughout life, and its role in LOAD pathology is well understood. Recent studies have begun to examine the effect of genetic variation in the GAB2 gene on differences in the brain. However, the effect of GAB2 on the young adult brain has yet to be considered. Here we found a significant association between the GAB2 gene and morphological brain differences in 755 young adult twins (469 females) (M = 23.1, SD = 3.1 years), using a gene-based test with principal components regression (PCReg). Detectable differences in brain morphology are therefore associated with variation in the GAB2 gene, even in young adults, long before the typical age of onset of Alzheimer's disease.

SUBMITTER: Hibar DP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3785377 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Alzheimer's disease risk gene, GAB2, is associated with regional brain volume differences in 755 young healthy twins.

Hibar Derrek P DP Jahanshad Neda N Stein Jason L JL Kohannim Omid O Toga Arthur W AW Medland Sarah E SE Hansell Narelle K NK McMahon Katie L KL de Zubicaray Greig I GI Montgomery Grant W GW Martin Nicholas G NG Wright Margaret J MJ Thompson Paul M PM

Twin research and human genetics : the official journal of the International Society for Twin Studies 20120601 3

The development of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) is under strong genetic control and there is great interest in the genetic variants that confer increased risk. The Alzheimer's disease risk gene, growth factor receptor bound protein 2-associated protein (GAB2), has been shown to provide a 1.27-1.51 increased odds of developing LOAD for rs7101429 major allele carriers, in case-control analysis. GAB2 is expressed across the brain throughout life, and its role in LOAD pathology is well unde ...[more]

PMID: 22856364

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Dataset Information

Alzheimer's disease risk gene, GAB2, is associated with regional brain volume differences in 755 young healthy twins.

Publications

Alzheimer's disease risk gene, GAB2, is associated with regional brain volume differences in 755 young healthy twins.

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