Approximately 7 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease, a figure that experts predict will double by 2060.
While aging and genetics are the most well-known factors in developing Alzheimer’s, lifestyle choices like alcohol consumption could also influence the risk and progression of the disease.
New research from scientists at Scripps Research shows a strong link between alcohol use disorder (AUD) and Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting that excessive alcohol use may speed up Alzheimer’s development.
The study, published in eNeuro on September 19, 2024, explores how gene expression—the way our genes behave—changes similarly in both Alzheimer’s and alcohol use disorder.
Dr. Pietro Paolo Sanna, a senior researcher on the study, explains that specific genes and pathways in the brain are “dysregulated” in both conditions, meaning their activity becomes abnormal.
This disruption could mean that AUD and Alzheimer’s impact the brain through similar mechanisms, potentially accelerating Alzheimer’s progression in people with heavy alcohol use.
This study is the first to use a technique called single-cell transcriptomics, which allows researchers to analyze how genes are expressed in individual brain cells.
This method enabled them to observe how different brain cells behave in Alzheimer’s patients at varying stages of the disease, from early to advanced stages, and compare this with data from people with AUD.
The researchers analyzed RNA sequencing data—a technique that reveals which genes are active at any given moment—from hundreds of thousands of brain cells taken from 75 people with different stages of Alzheimer’s and 10 people without the disease.
Then, they compared these patterns with gene expression data from people with AUD, drawn from earlier studies.
The results showed that both conditions lead to similar gene expression changes in the brain, affecting genes related to inflammation, cell communication, cell death, and blood vessel function.
Dr. Arpita Joshi, the study’s lead author, points out that this research sheds light on the molecular details of Alzheimer’s disease and highlights AUD as a possible risk factor.
Since AUD and Alzheimer’s both lead to cognitive decline, this connection suggests that people with heavy alcohol use may be at increased risk of developing or worsening Alzheimer’s.
Although this study was limited by a small sample size for AUD, the researchers hope to conduct further analysis using larger datasets expected to become available soon.
By increasing the sample size, they aim to confirm these findings and gain a deeper understanding of how these two conditions interact at the cellular level.
This research represents a promising step toward understanding Alzheimer’s disease and AUD on a molecular level, potentially leading to new treatment approaches.
With more detailed knowledge about how these diseases impact brain cells, scientists can identify new therapeutic targets that might help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s, especially in individuals with AUD.
This global effort to study complex diseases at the single-cell level could bring us closer to more effective treatments, offering hope for both Alzheimer’s and AUD patients.
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The research findings can be found in eNeuro.
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