{"id":201814,"date":"2021-09-30T16:09:18","date_gmt":"2021-09-30T20:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=201814"},"modified":"2023-11-09T18:57:23","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T23:57:23","slug":"e2-gene-may-offer-some-protection-against-cognitive-decline","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2021\/e2-gene-may-offer-some-protection-against-cognitive-decline\/","title":{"rendered":"E2 Gene May Offer Some Protection Against Cognitive Decline"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin sphnews-block-editorial-leadin is-style-default has-media has-media-focus-center-middle\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2560\" height=\"1583\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2021\/09\/E2-gene-scaled.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2021\/09\/E2-gene-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2021\/09\/E2-gene-636x393.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2021\/09\/E2-gene-1024x633.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2021\/09\/E2-gene-768x475.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2021\/09\/E2-gene-1536x950.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2021\/09\/E2-gene-2048x1266.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2021\/09\/E2-gene-755x467.jpg 755w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2021\/09\/E2-gene-1617x1000.jpg 1617w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2021\/09\/E2-gene-900x557.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2021\/09\/E2-gene-1920x1187.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2021\/09\/E2-gene-1200x742.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">alzheimer\u2019s\/dementia<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tE2 Gene May Offer Some Protection Against Cognitive Decline\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">New genetic analyses reveal that this gene is associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline with age.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar sphnews-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">September 30, 2021<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/authors\/jillian-mckoy\/\">Jillian McKoy<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p>The <em>APOE <\/em>gene\u2014coding for a protein involved in lipid transport and linked to the clearance of amyloid-beta, a protein that builds up in the brain in Alzheimer\u2019s disease\u2014exists in three forms: E4, E3, and E2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A new study led by a School of Public Health researcher and <a href=\"https:\/\/content.iospress.com\/articles\/journal-of-alzheimers-disease\/jad201205\">published in the <em>Journal of Alzheimer\u2019s Disease<\/em><\/a> shows evidence that the E2 gene is associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline with age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA lot of attention is paid to genetic traits that put people at higher risk for diseases like Alzheimer\u2019s, but understanding genetic traits that seem protective against cognitive decline is also valuable,\u201d says study lead author Benjamin Sweigart, a doctoral student in the Department of Biostatistics. &nbsp;\u201cOur results suggest that the E2 allele may play a particularly important biochemical role in slowing cognitive decline. Understanding exactly what it does could help advance the development of therapeutics that slow cognitive decline as we age.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To better understand the role of E2 in mediating cognitive decline, Sweigart and colleagues analyzed genotype data from two large longitudinal cohort studies: the New England Centenarian Study and the Long Life Family Study. The New England Centenarian Study includes over 4,000 participants comprised of centenarians and their family members. The Long Life Family Study has enrolled about 4,900 participants belonging to long-lived families. These two samples provided the researchers with a sizeable group of individuals carrying the E2 allele.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To determine the effect of E2 allele status on cognitive decline, the researchers used a tool called the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS). Every three years in the Long Life Family Study (or, for participants over age 70, every year) and every other year for participants in the New England Centenarian Study, the researchers administered this series of questions designed to screen for cognitive impairment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After analyzing the genotypes of the participants and comparing their scores on TICS, the researchers found that individuals homozygous for the genotype (E2\/E2 individuals) experienced a significantly slower rate of cognitive decline as they got older. None of the other genotypes, however, were significantly different than the E3\/E3 genotype. individuals with only one E2 allele (heterozygous individuals) did not have the same protective effect as individuals with two E2 alleles (homozygous individuals).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese findings are consistent with a protective effect of the E2\/E2 genotype on episodic memory, working memory, and executive function domains of cognitive function,\u201d Sweigart says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study was co-authored by Stacy L. Andersen and Thomas T. Perls of the Section of Geriatrics of the Boston University School of Medicine, Anastasia Gurinovich and Paola Sebastiani of the Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies of Tufts Medical Center, and Stephanie Cosentino and Nicole Schupf of the Cognitive Neuroscience Division of the Department of Neurology and Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer\u2019s Disease and the Aging Brain and the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center at Columbia University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The APOE gene\u2014coding for a protein involved in lipid transport and linked to the clearance of amyloid-beta, a protein that builds up in the brain in Alzheimer\u2019s disease\u2014exists in three forms: E4, E3, and E2. A new study led by a School of Public Health researcher and published in the Journal of Alzheimer\u2019s Disease shows [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15205,"featured_media":201817,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"alzheimer\u2019s\/dementia","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[1708,1973,503,2245],"bu-publication":[3516],"sphnews-article-category":[],"sphnews-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"profile_tax":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/201814"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201814"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/201814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":201818,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/201814\/revisions\/201818"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201814"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=201814"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-article-category?post=201814"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-topic?post=201814"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=201814"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=201814"},{"taxonomy":"profile_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile_tax?post=201814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}