Roles of non-genetic risk faetors in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease

Roles of non-genetic risk faetors in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease

Naoyuki Sato

¹⁾Department of Clinical Gene therapy, Department of Geniatric Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Univeristy
²⁾Department of Geniatric Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Univeristy

Because 14% of people over 65 years old suffer from dementia, development of prevention methods and therapeutics against this devastating disease has been awaited. Recently, diabetes, hypertension in mid-life, and dyslipidemia in mid-life have been focused as non-genetic risk factors for Alzheimer disease (AD). The mechanisms whereby non-genetic risk factors modify cognitive dysfunction are divided into four components, short- and long-term effects of vascular and metabolic factors. Recent large randomized controlled trial showed that a multidisciplinary intervention, including exercise and diet maintained cognitive function in at-risk elderly people. These findings support the idea that controlling of these non-genetic factors by exercise, diet and medications is one of promising approach toward prevention and cure of dementia including AD.
Keyword:Abeta, tau, diabetes, insulin signal, aging

Address correspondence to Dr. Naoyuki Sato, Department of Clinical Gene therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Univeristy (2-2 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan)