Alzheimer's in people with hypertension, diabetes, obesity and heart disease

For more than 20 years, scientists have known that people with hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, or obesity have a higher likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease.

The conditions can all affect the brain, damaging blood vessels and leading to strokes. But the connection between vascular disease in the brain and Alzheimer's has remained unexplained despite the intense efforts of researchers.

Now, a study led by researchers at Columbia University's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons has uncovered a possible mechanism. The study found a gene called FMNL2 links cerebrovascular disease and Alzheimer's and suggests changes in FMNL2 activity caused by cerebrovascular disease prevent the efficient clearance of toxic proteins from the brain, eventually leading to Alzheimer's disease.

The researchers studied postmortem human brains and found increased expression of FMNL2 in people with Alzheimer's disease, along with breach of the blood-brain barrier and retraction of the astrocytes.

The team is currently in the process of investigating other genes that could be involved in the interplay between Alzheimer's and cerebrovascular disease, which, along with FMNL2, could provide future approaches for drug development.

The finding could lead to a way to prevent Alzheimer's in people with hypertension, diabetes, obesity, or heart disease.