Evidence for genetic linkage of Alzheimer's disease to chromosome 10q

Recent studies suggest that insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) in neurons and m icroglia degrades A beta, the principal component of beta -amyloid and one of the neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We performe d parametric and nonparametric linkage analyses of seven genetic markers on chromosome 10q, six of which map near the IDE gene, in 435 multiplex AD fa milies. These analyses revealed significant evidence of linkage for adjacen t markers (D10S1671, D10S583, D10S1710, and D10S566), which was most pronou nced in late-onset families. Furthermore, we found evidence for allele-spec ific association between the putative disease locus and marker D10S583, whi ch has recently been located within 195 kilobases of the IDE gene.