Researchers from the University of Mississippi Medical Center recently participated in a study that identified a gene connected to healthy information processing.
The study, published Tuesday in “Molecular Psychiatry,” is the largest existing study to provide a link between a particular genetic variant and information processing speed, according to Marc Rolph UMMC representative.
The Cohorts for Healthy Aging Research and Genomic Epidemiology Consortium organized the study and its data on genetic and cognitive functioning in more than 30,000 adults in 12 countries.
The Consortium combines data from studies based in Iceland, the Netherlands and the United States.
Dr. Tom Mosley, director of the Mental Impairment and Neurodegenerative Dementia Research Center and senior scientist on the study, explained the nature of genetics research and the complexities involved.
“There are some genes that have large effects,” Mosley said. “With most chronic diseases, like Alzheimer’s or arthritis, what we’re finding is that a number of places along the genome have smaller effects.”
The strongest genetic associations the study identified with information processing were found in a protein-coding DNA gene called Syncam2, also known as CADM 2. Of the various metrics used by researchers, a test of information processing speed produced the greatest genetic association.
The UMMC’s Memory Impairment Neurodegenerative Dementia Center is a national leader in Alzheimer’s research, funded by a $26 million grant from the National Institute of Health.
UMMC Vice Chancellor for Research Dr. Richard Summers commented on the impact researchers at the MIND Center and throughout the medical center have on medical literature.
“We have researchers here with tremendous talent that are very capable of leading national and international projects like this,” Summers said. “Tom Mosley is one of those and we’re glad to see him move that forward.”
Senior psychology major Meredith Blackwell commented on the significance and complexity of Alzheimer’s disease research.
“Genetics research and research into behavioral causes are pivotal to better understanding cognitive diseases, so this is very exciting, but there are many steps remaining,” Blackwell said. “Between genes, neuronal functions and cognitive processes, as well as biological and environmental underpinnings, large amounts of collaborative research will be needed before a thorough understanding of that process can be reached.”
According to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics, Alzheimer’s disease is the nation’s sixth leading cause of death, with 44.3 percent of hospice patients and 48.5 percent of nursing home residents were diagnosed with the disease.
“My grandmother had Alzheimer’s for over fifteen years,” Blackwell said. “Diseases which involve cognitive decline like Alzheimer’s are terrifying and devastating experiences for both the patient and close family.”
Important steps to follow up on this research include replication of results and identifying the functions of genes marked as important in cognitive processing.
“There are certain areas of the genome that we have no idea what they do,” Mosley said. “As one of my colleagues says it, it’s like seeing a light on a distant shore.”
