According to ADx Health, “Surprisingly, humans share 99% of the same genetic code. The 1% that is unique involves changes to specific nucleotide bases, resulting in changes to specific genes, and in some cases, changes in risks for certain diseases,” including the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
It is now widely accepted that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by both modifiable (such as nutrition, exercise, sleep) and non-modifiable (genetics, age, sex) risk factors. While APOE is the most well-known genetic factor associated with Alzheimer’s disease risk, the GenoRisk polygenic test evaluates 29 genes in addition to APOE.
However, most research studies have previously only utilized APOE genetic risk in assessing subjects, leaving significant gaps in understanding the full picture of risk prediction for AD, which is why ADx Health developed a new way to test for Alzheimer’s with the GenoRisk test.
GenoRisk study data demonstrate there can be a wide range of risks within a given APOE genotype. In some cases, individuals with a lower-risk APOE variant may actually have a higher overall genetic risk than someone with a higher-risk APOE variant as a result of the inclusion of age and sex adjustment.
“With a better understanding of how multiple genes interact in predicting AD risk, this type of polygenic assessment could provide greater insights into individualized Alzheimer’s management, including how patients are treated, endpoints for clinical trials, and measures for risk reduction”, said Ryan Fortna, MD, one of the study’s authors.
