Title: APOE4 leads to blood–brain barrier dysfunction predicting cognitive decline
Date: April 29, 2020
Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2247-3
The APOE4 gene increases risk for Alzheimer’s disease in about 15% of the population by damaging pericytes, special cells that normally protect the blood–brain-barrier. With our colleagues at USC, we find that early cognitive decline with breakdown of this barrier in individuals with the APOE4 gene is independent of Alzheimer’s amyloid and tau pathology. This research highlights that pericyte damage may be a personalized therapeutic target to treat Alzheimer’s disease in 15% of the population.
