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 | Medical News Releases > Faculty Experts at Washington University in St. Louis >
Professor of Genetics and Psychiatry
Expertise: Alzheimer's disease, amyloid, genetics, psychiatry, genetic mutation, amyloid-beta, disease-causing mutations
Bio:
A professor of genetics in psychiatry, Alison Goate is a molecular geneticist who discovered the first genetic mutation that causes a form of Alzheimer's disease.
Education:
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B.Sc. in Biochemistry at University of Bristol (England)
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D.Phil. in Pathology at Linacre College, University of Oxford
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Genetic marker
Gene variation linked to earlier onset of Alzheimer's symptoms
June 9,
2008 --
Investigators at the School of Medicine have identified a genetic variation associated with an earlier age of onset in Alzheimer's disease. Unlike genetic mutations previously linked to rare, inherited forms of early-onset Alzheimer's disease — which can strike people as young as their 30s or 40s — these variants influence an earlier presentation of symptoms in people affected by the more common, late-onset form of the disease.
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Memory images
Older adult volunteers needed for memory imaging study
Jan. 24,
2007 -- Investigators at the School of Medicine are conducting a study to investigate factors related to memory in older adults. They are seeking healthy volunteers between 70 and 75 years of age who have siblings also willing to participate. Study participants will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to determine the structure of the brain and a positron emission tomography (PET) scan to analyze amyloid levels in the brain.
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Zeroing in on a gene
Region of DNA strongly associated with Alzheimer?s disease
Jan. 10,
2006 -- An international team of researchers, led by investigators at the School of Medicine, are zeroing in on a gene that increases risk for Alzheimer's disease. They have identified a region of chromosome 10 that appears to be involved in risk for the disease that currently affects an estimated 4.5 million Americans.
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Additional Background: Goate is a professor of genetics in psychiatry who is internationally known for her discovery of the first genetic mutation linked to an inherited form of Alzheimer's disease. Working in England in 1991, her group found a mutation in the amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene on chromosome 21. The gene produces amyloid-beta peptide, the substance found in the senile plaques that form in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients. The specific abnormality she identified was connected to inherited cases of early-onset Alzheimer's disease that affect members of particular families before the age of 60. The majority of Alzheimer's cases are not inherited, but Goate's discovery led researchers to look for additional genetic abnormalities that could be linked to other subtypes of the disease. Goate's findings helped focus research on the hypothesis that abnormalities in amyloid-beta are critical to the development of Alzheimer's disease.
Since that initial discovery, Goate and colleagues have identified mutations in two other genes that cause Alzheimer's disease. Her current work is focused upon two issues: gaining a greater understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of these disease-causing mutations and identifying novel genetic risk factors for late onset Alzheimer's disease. Goate's laboratory also studies genes that might make people more susceptible to alcoholism.
Affiliated with Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children's Hospital, members of BJC HealthCare.
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