IDENTIFICATION OF NOVEL GENETIC RISK FACTORS FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) AND FR

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Alzheimer s Disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia with prevalence rates estimated between 5% and 10% in the age group 65 years and older and as high as 47% for those age 85 and older (Evans et al. 1989). Pathological hallmarks of AD include neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques (Hardy & Selko, 2002). A better understanding of the neural systems involved as well as the genetics and biochemistry of AD, had led to novel therapies. More recently, increasing attention has been paid to degenerative dementias that are distinct from AD. This has led to a better characterization of the clinical and neuropathological phenotypes of these diseases. The term frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is used to describe a group of non-AD dementias with related clinical and neuropathological characteristics (McKhann, 2001). Cases of FTD may comprise between 5% and 10% of neurodegenerative demantias in epidemiological samples and between 9% and 16% in autopsy cases (Bird et al., 2003), making it a significant cause of morbidity behind AD.