Abstract
In 1932, a case of apparent hereditary Alzheimer’s disease was reported (Schottky, 1932); reports of similar families subsequently appeared in the literature (Lowenburg and Waggoner, 1934; Essen-Moller, 1946; Wheelan, 1959; Gillespie, 1938), but such cases were considered very rare. Since then, epidemiological studies suggest that familial Alzheimer’s disease may be frequent (Sjögren et al., 1952; Heston and Mastri, 1977; Heston et al., 1981; Heyman et al., 1983), and a number of extensive pedigrees with autosomal-dominant, histologically confirmed Alzheimer’s disease have been reported (e.g., Neeet al., 1983). The major problem with discerning a hereditary factor in Alzheimer’s disease from prevalence data is the late age of onset. Studies such as those by Heyman and co-workers (1983) and by Breitner and colleagues (e.g., Mohs et al., 1987) have suggested that a large proportion of cases might have a genetic basis.
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© 1990 Plenum Press, New York
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Hardy, J.A. et al. (1990). The Molecular Genetics of Alzheimer’s Disease. In: Goldstein, A.L. (eds) Biomedical Advances in Aging. GWUMC Department of Biochemistry Annual Spring Symposia. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0513-2_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0513-2_3
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