Up to 40% of frontotemporal dementia cases are caused by genetic factors. Moreover, more than ten genes may cause the development of this disease. About This Conversation said Neuroscientist Feng-Biao Gao, founding director of the American Frontotemporal Dementia Research Center at Umass Chan School of Medicine.
Frontotemporal dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative disease and the second most common type of dementia. This disease affects the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain, which are responsible for controlling behavior, speech, and the ability to plan and organize actions.
Up to 40 percent of frontotemporal dementia cases are genetically determined, the neuroscientist said. More than a dozen genes are associated with this disease. He explained that genes contain a kind of “instruction” with the help of which cells produce proteins that carry out the functions necessary for life. Mutated genes can result in mutated proteins that fail to perform their normal functions or become toxic.
Mutated proteins contribute to the development of frontotemporal dementia. One such protein, called tau, can form clumps (plaques) in the brain, disrupting the functioning of neurons. Another important protein, progranulin, regulates the part of cells called lysosomes. Normally, the cell breaks down waste products, but this function may be weakened in the presence of genetic mutations.
Gao noted that the most common mutation in a gene called C9orf72 is associated with both temporal lobe dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the central nervous system. However, some people who are carriers of genetic mutations may not show any symptoms of the disease for decades.
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Source: Gazeta
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