Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Discovery May Spur Alzheimer’s Test

Discovery of a key role played by a gene in Alzheimer’s disease may lead quickly to a diagnostic test and possible eventual development of drugs to prevent the memory-destroying disorder, scientists said. New studies presented at a symposium in Washington sponsored by the government’s National Institute on Aging suggest that one form of a gene called apolipoprotein-E, or apoE, may protect some people from developing Alzheimer’s disease, while a flawed form of the same gene substantially increases the risk. The research, by a Duke University team, showed that a rare form of the gene, called apoE2, appears to protect people from developing Alzheimer’s. But people with another form of the gene, apoE4, were at substantially greater risk of developing the disease.