Alzheimer’s disease, a disease that is associated with mental decline, causes up to 80% of the dementia cases. A woman in Columbia that suffers from Alzheimer’s disease for years has yet not developed dementia. Scientist have come to believe that it is because of a mutation in her genetic code, she is immune to developing dementia.
She developed Alzheimer’s at a very young age due to a Presenilin 1 (PSEN1) gene being mutated. It is a “E280A mutation, but this isn’t the mutation that caused her immunity to dementia. The reason for her dementia immunity is because she has 2 mutations called “Christchurch” mutations in he APOE3 genes. Having 2 of these mutations have helped block the necessary actions for the body to have unnecessary death of brain cells. If this mutation could be replicated in the lab and applied to individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s, then it may be able to prevent those individuals from developing dementia. Because the mutation stopped the Alzheimer’s from progressing into dementia, it may not be able to reverse the effects for people already affected by it.
Original Article: Woman that Doesn't Develop Alzheimer's