Candidate susceptibility genes in Alzheimer's disease are at high risk for being forgotten-- they don't give peace of mind..

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a genetically complex and heterogenous disorder. In a small proportion of cases, mutations in three determinative (causal) genes are responsible for autosomal dominant early-onset forms of AD. The majority of cases, however, is sporadic, late-onset AD with unknown etiology. The pathology and clinical manifestations of these forms are influenced by multiple genetic and environmental risk factors. Over the past decades, a number of candidate genes have been identified as disease modifiers with conflicting results. This study reviews susceptibility genes that are associated with increased risk of developing AD.