Midlife predictors of Alzheimer's disease

Received 10 November 2009; received in revised form 10 December 2009; accepted 11 December 2009. published online 18 December 2009.

Abstract

Factors contributing to increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) include age, sex, genes, and family history of AD. Several risk factors for AD are endogenous; however, accumulating evidence implicates modifiable risk factors in the pathogenesis of AD. Although the continued task of identifying new genes will be critical to learning more about the disease, several research findings suggest that potentially alterable environmental factors influence genetic contributions, providing targets for disease prevention and treatment. Here, we review midlife risk factors for AD, and address the potential for therapeutic intervention in midlife.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, Dementia, Midlife, Genes, Family history, Estrogen, Vascular risk, Education, MRI

a William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Geriatric Research Educational and Clinical Center, Madison, WI, USA

b University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Medicine, Madison, WI, USA

c University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Population Health Sciences, Madison, WI, USA

Corresponding author at: Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Administration Hospital, 2500 Overlook Terrace (11G), Madison, WI 53705, USA. Tel.: +1 608 256 1901; fax: +1 608 280 7165.

PII: S0378-5122(09)00469-1

doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2009.12.014

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