The genetics of Alzheimer’s disease in the Chinese population

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive cognitive dysfunction and behavioral impairment. In China, the number of AD patients is growing rapidly, which poses a considerable burden on society and families. In recent years, through the advancement of genome-wide association studies, second-generation gene sequencing technology, and their application in AD genetic research, more genetic loci associated with the risk for AD have been discovered, including KCNJ15, TREM2, and GCH1, which provides new ideas for the etiology and treatment of AD. This review summarizes three early-onset AD causative genes (APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2) and some late-onset AD susceptibility genes and their mutation sites newly discovered in China, and briefly introduces the potential mechanisms of these genetic susceptibilities in the pathogenesis of AD, which would help in understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying this devastating disease.