The impact of ancestry on genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s

The ApoE4 allele is associated with rapid decline in Alzheimer’s disease; however, there is evidence that this effect is diminished in African American individuals. Here, Elizabeth Mormino, PhD, of Stanford University, Stanford, CA, discusses research conducted by her Postdoctoral researcher, Kacie Deters, investigating this trend. She explains that African Americans can be placed on a continuum of low to high African ancestry, and that their place on this continuum is a key predictor for their rate of decline in Alzheimer’s disease. She highlights the implications of this research, emphasizing that genetic risk factors vary in impact across contexts, and that this is important to understand when calculating patient risk. This video was recorded at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) 2018, held in Chicago, IL.