A Comprehensive Genetic Association Study of Alzheimer Disease in African Americans

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Abstract
Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. Environmental and host risk factors for common late-onset AD (LOAD) include low educational level, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and head trauma. Genetic factors also influence LOAD risk, evidenced by heritability estimates as high as 75%1 and analyses showing transmission of a major gene for the disease in families.2 Until recently, the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE [OMIM +107741]) was the only one generally recognized to influence LOAD risk.3 In whites, homozygosity for the ε4 variant is associated with an increased risk by as much as 15 times that of the most common APOE genotype (ε3/ε3).4