The broken Alzheimer's disease genome

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Genetics
• Genomics

Background:

• Late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) presents complex pathobiology, challenging therapeutic and preventative strategies.
• Classical hallmarks of AD pathology do not fully capture the disease's intricate mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review genetic, epigenomic, and gene expression findings in AD pathogenesis.
• To explore how integrating these data enhances understanding of AD's multicellular imbalances and heterogeneity.

Main Methods:

• High-resolution sequencing technologies applied to genomic and epigenomic analyses.
• Integration of genetic, epigenomic, and gene expression data.
• Review of current literature on AD pathogenesis.

Main Results:

• Genomic insights, termed the "broken AD genome," provide quantitative evidence beyond classical AD hallmarks.
• Advances highlight novel biological pathways implicated in AD.
• Genomic and epigenomic data are revitalizing drug discovery and improving clinical tools.

Conclusions:

• Integration of multi-omics data offers a clearer understanding of AD's heterogeneous, multicellular nature.
• Future AD care holds promise for being more personalized and predictive based on these research milestones.