Shocked! Alzheimer's genes are linked to high risk of COVID-19.

, June 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/
-- The lipoprotein E-4 gene (APOE4) mutation increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease and is also associated with COVID-19According to a recent study published in The Journal of Gerontology, Series A, carrying two variants of the variant, commonly known as APOE4, doubles the likelihood that people will develop severe COVID-19, a disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus currently circulating around the worldDavid Melzer of the University of Exeter and his colleagues used genetic and health data from UK biobank volunteers to study the effects of the APOE4 variant, which affects cholesterol transport and inflammationOf the approximately 383,000 people of European descent who participated in the study, more than 9,000 carried two copiesThe researchers cross-referenced the list with patients who tested positive for COVID-19 between March 16 and April 26The analysis showed that the APOE4 pure hermit genotype doubled the risk of serious illness compared to those who had two variants called "3"Picture Source: This result is not due to the conditions of the nursing home, nor because it is more likely to be diagnosed with dementiaNone of the 37 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 with two copies of the APOE4 gene were diagnosed with dementia"It's good evidence -- no matter what diseases we've ruled out, the link between them still exists," Melzer saidSo it seems to be caused by a genetic mutationDavid Curtis, emeritus professor at the Institute ofGeneticat University College London, said dementia itself could still play a roleSome of the 37 patients who tested positive may or will have cognitive problems, but there are no diagnosis "I'm afraid this study doesn't really convince me that the ApoE e4 allele (gene variant) is really an independent risk factor for a serious COCID-19 infection I would like to test this in a sample that can be more confident in ruling out dementia, perhaps for a younger group I believe that more data will be available soon to illustrate this problem "
if APOE4 affects the process of SARS-CoV-2 infection, it won't be the first gene to be considered an important factor Preliminary studies have found that the variation of THE ACE2 gene, HLA gene and ABO blood type coding gene encoded on the host cell is also related to the susceptibility or severity of COVID-19 , who was not involved in the study, Tara Spires-Jones, a researcher on neurodegradation at the University of Edinburgh, said: "Perhaps the role of ApoE in disease and the immune system is important and future research may use this to develop effective treatments (BioValleyBioon.com) reference: Chia-Ling Kuo et al.
APOE E4 Genotype Predicts Severe COVID-19 in the UK Biobank Community Cohort The Journal of Gerontology: Series A, glaa131, https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glaa131
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