The University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine is urging Hawaii residents to participate in a gene match study that someday could help to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.
The Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative and Gene Match Program, which has enrolled more than 65,000 Americans, aims to build a national database using DNA collected from cheek swabs. Hawaii is among the most diverse states in the nation, making it valuable to genetic testing, but it is lagging behind most other states with just 220 participants from a population of 1.4 million, JABSOM said. That compares with 1,212 in Oregon, 5,414 in California and 6,518 in Arizona.
The program is seeking volunteers between the ages of 55 and 75 with no memory problems for the national genetic registry created in 2015.
“With our diverse island population, residents of our state could really make a significant impact as we seek to learn who is most at risk for this terrible disease and how we can create more effective treatments tailored to a patients’ genetic background,” Dr. Kore Kai Liow, JABSOM principal investigator and clinical professor of neurology, said in a news release. “We now know that the abnormal protein deposits (hallmark of Alzheimer’s) happens at least 10-20 years before memory loss occurs. Alzheimer’s dementia continues to be one of the most challenging medical conditions without a cure facing our times with someone diagnosed every 65 seconds.”
One in 3 seniors die from Alzheimer’s in the U.S., he said.
Researchers are trying to find treatments targeting those at high risk for developing the disease.
Scientists reported Thursday that certain viruses, including two common types of herpes, might affect the genes involved in Alzheimer’s disease, which progressively destroys memory and impairs mental ability.
In 2010 Hawaii reported about 27,000 cases of dementia among those 65 years and older, not including those that were not diagnosed. That number is expected to increase 48 percent to 34,000 by 2025, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Free swab tests are available at the Clinical Research Center at Hawaii Pacific Neuroscience, 2230 Liliha St. The center also offers free memory testing.
Register online at endalznow.org/for-researchers/genematch-toolkit/hawaii-neuroscience/6191 or call the Hawaii Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry at 564-6141 or 564-6142.
