Screening for presenilin-1 gene mutations by PCR-SSCP analysis in patients with early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

The majority of early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) has been associated with mutations in a novel gene on chromosome 14 which has been termed presenilin-1 gene. We screened for mutations within the presenilin-1 gene in twenty patients with EOAD using a PCR-SSCP analysis. We found three aberrant (mutant?) band patterns for exons 4 and 7 in three unrelated patients.