【BiOptic X Global Bio& Investment Science Detection Project】

September 21th is International Dementia Day, which is formulated by Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI). The purpose is to let more and more people realize this disease, care about the patients and their families. To respond to this meaningful day, BiOptic and Global Bio& Investment hold a science project to make more people this disease deeply.

What is dementia?

Everyone has heard of dementia, but do you really understand what dementia is? And how serious is the disease currently?

According to data from Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI, Alzheimer's Disease International) in 2019, it is estimated that there will be 10 million new dementia patients worldwide in 2019. In other words, on average, one person will suffer from dementia every 3 seconds. In addition to the high attack rate, the cost of care cannot be underestimated. The estimate in 2019 alone is nearly US$1 trillion, and it is estimated that it will double to US$2 trillion in 2030. It is a disease that requires a huge cost of care and labor.

But in fact, dementia is not caused by a single disease, but a group of symptoms. Some dementia is caused by specific reasons, that patients could have the possibility to recover after treatment. The common symptoms are not only memory loss, but also affect interpersonal relationships and work skills, such as language defected, judgment, deterioration of attention, and some even delusions, personality changes, etc.

There are two types of dementia: degenerative and vascular. One of the most common degenerative dementia is Alzheimer's disease, which was discovered in 1906 by German physician Alois Alzheimer and named after it. Dr. Alzheimer discovered that the patient had amyloid-β (Aβ) plaque lesions and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, which led to the death of brain cells.

The cause of Alzheimer's disease in most patients is still unknown. A mental examination, neuropsychological examination, and other related clinical examinations are still needed to confirm the diagnosis. But according to research, "genes" actually play an important role in the cause of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer’s disease can be divided into two categories: early-onset and late-onset. This time, we focus on late-onset Alzheimer’s disease-related gene ApoE (Apolipoprotein E), which is on the nineteenth pair of human chromosomes,  accounts for the majority of cases. The E-type apolipoprotein ApoE (Apolipoprotein E) Perform screening. According to the research, it has found that ApoE participates show regularly of Aβ accumulation in the brain, leading to the death of brain cells. This symptom is one of the common symptoms of late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

According to the specific single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of DNA sequence, ApoE can be divided into three kinds of mutation points: ε2, ε3, and ε4. The protein isomers formed are E2 (cys112, cys158) and E3. (cys112, arg158), E4 (arg112, arg158). Each person inherits an allele from their parents, so ApoE genotype combination will produce the following six types: ε2/ε2, ε2/ε3, ε2/ε4, ε3/ε3, Ε3/ε4, ε4/ε4.

If sorted according to the proportion of population, it would be: ε3/ε3 (55.8%), ε3/ε4 (20.0%), ε2/ε3 (17.1%), ε2/ε4 (4.1%), ε4/ε4 (2.3%) And ε2/ε2 (0.7%). According to the statistical results, if you have ε4, the chance of getting Alzheimer's disease will increase by 3-5 times, and if the genotype is ε4/ε4, it will increase by 5-15 times. ε2 is relatively rare, it has the effect of antagonizing Alzheimer's disease. When compared with people with ε2 and ε4, the deterioration of Alzheimer's disease will occur later. Epsilon 3 is the most common allele. Researchers believe that it has a mild role in the disease and neither reduces nor increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Live healthy, stay away from dementia

Alzheimer's disease is a topic of a global issue. Although the pathogenesis is not yet clear, genetic testing can help grasp personal genetic information and make everyone do early health planning and management can effectively delay or prevent the occurrence of diseases.

The World Health Organization issued the latest dementia guidelines on May 14, 2019-"WHO's Guidelines on risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia" (WHO's Guidelines on risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia), which stated that have a balanced diet, maintain regular exercise habits, do not smoke, drink less, control weight and other good habits, maintain normal blood pressure, blood cholesterol and blood sugar, to reduce the risk of dementia.

The purpose of this science project is to understand the genotype of the subject (research use only, RUO), and there is no medical diagnosis behavior. If you need further consultation, please seek the relevant specialist doctor for diagnosis and treatment.