Alzheimer's risk gene discovered using imaging method that screens brain's connections / UCLA Newsroom

"Hundreds of computers, calculating for months, sifted through more than 4,000 brain connections and the entire genetic code, comparing connection patterns in people with different genetic variations. In people whose genetic code differed in one specific gene called SPON1, weaker connections were found between brain centers controlling reasoning and emotion. The rogue gene also affects how senile plaques build up in the brain — one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease."

SPON1 is an extracellular ligand for APP

Binding of F-spondin to amyloid-beta precursor protein: a candidate amyloid-beta precursor protein ligand that modulates amyloid-beta precursor protein cleavage.

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