A common gene variant has been discovered in about one-third of the population that may explain why some people\u2019s brains age faster than others, US researchers said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The gene, known as TMEM106B, accelerates normal brain aging in older people by up to 12 years, said the report in the journal Cell Systems.<\/p>\n
The gene generally starts to affect people around 65, particularly in the frontal cortex, which is responsible for higher mental processes like concentration, planning, judgment and creativity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at a group of seniors, some will look older than their peers and some will look younger,\u201d said co-author Asa Abeliovich, professor of pathology and neurology in the Taub Institute for Alzheimer\u2019s Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Medical Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who have two \u2018bad\u2019 copies of this gene have a frontal cortex that, by various biological measures, appears 12 years older that those who have two normal copies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Researchers found the gene by analyzing genetic data from autopsied human brain samples taken from 1,904 people without any apparent disease.<\/p>\n
Until age 65, \u201ceverybody\u2019s in the same boat, and then there\u2019s some yet-to-be-defined stress that kicks in,\u201d said Abeliovich.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have two good copies of the gene, you respond well to that stress. If you have two bad copies, your brain ages quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other individual genes have been previously found which raise the risk of neurodegenerative disorders, such as apolipoprotein E (APOE) for Alzheimer\u2019s disease.\u2014AFP<\/p>\n
Image: Alamy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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