APOE4 GENE AND ALZHEIMER’S RISK
This is a fascinating topic, and we are learning so much more about it. A recent report published in the journal Nature by scientists at MIT showed that APOE4 alters the way cholesterol moves around the brain, and as we age, this altered movement, likely contributes to loss of learning and memory. The scientists found that in patients with APOE4, cholesterol was abnormally deposited in oligodendrocytes, which are cells that are responsible for producing myelin, a fatty insulating structure that covers neurons and facilitates electrical communication between different parts of the brain. And with less myelination, communication within the brain was slower, and this could potentially lead to memory dysfunction. We will discuss all of this as well as the profound impact of lifestyle in the prevention of Alzheimer’s, despite the risk factors in detail on next week’s episode of The Brain Health Revolution Podcast. Let us know if you have any questions we can address in the podcast.
– APOE4 impairs myelination via cholesterol dysregulation in oligodendrocytes. Nature PMID: 36385529
– APOE4 allele, elevated midlife, total cholesterol level, and high midlife systolic blood pressure or independent risk factors for late-life Alzheimer’s disease. Annals of internal medicine, PMID: 12160362
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