Genome Biology | Full text | Hypothesis-driven genomics pays off
Monday, July 1st, 2013QT:
Despite its financial woes, deCode has begun to pay off, not in money, but in science. About 10 years ago its scientists co-discovered the association of the neuroregulin 1 (NRG1) gene with schizophrenia, and they have had some more modest successes with other diseases. But last week, deCode produced not only its most important genetic finding to date, but also quite possibly the most important genetic finding in Alzheimer’s disease in the last 20 years.
To be fair, the company had plenty of help. Coauthors of their paper, “A mutation in APP protects against Alzheimer’s disease and
age-related cognitive decline” … the key to the study rests on two things: the use of genetically defined populations, and genome sequencing and analysis based on a specific hypothesis.
”
http://genomebiology.com/2012/13/10/176
Nice overview of #Alzheimer’s research giving context for deCode’s finding of a protective APP mutation
http://genomebiology.com/2012/13/10/176