The Genomic Basis of Alzheimer's Disease in Ireland
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Genomic Basis of Alzheimer's Disease In Ireland.
IRAS ID
250309
Contact name
Tony Bjourson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Genomics Medicine Ireland
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Dementia is a symptom of damage to brain cells. It is commonly used to describe a number of neurological disorders which are characterized by a loss of cognitive and social functioning and behavioural changes. The number of people with dementia in Ireland is expected to double over the next 20 years from the current estimate of around 55,000 people to ~113,000 in 2031 (www.hse.ie).
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia and accounts for two thirds of clinically diagnosed cases, affecting 44 million people worldwide (Reitz and Mayeux., 2014). AD is a pathologically and clinically heterogenous disease with a strong genetic component (Reitz C., 2015). Treatment for symptomatic management is very limited. There is an unmet need to better our understanding of this complex disease which may lead to novel disease therapies and management, reducing the disease burden on the patient.
In this study, we propose to recruit 6000 individuals with AD. The focus of this study is to research how our genes, environment and lifestyle influence disease risk, disease subtype, disease progression and drug response. We will do this by using cutting-edge techniques such as whole genome sequencing. This technique which will allow us to perform in-depth analysis of all genes at the same time.
This study will examine genetic materials in participant's blood including DNA and RNA, and may also look at proteins and plasma. Combining the information from these multiple different sample types will provide a more global and detailed view of the disease and disease mechanisms.
We anticipate that the unique breadth, depth and scale of this genomic study will allow researchers to advance the understanding of AD and lead to new and exciting developments in health and medicine.REC name
HSC REC B
REC reference
18/NI/0132
Date of REC Opinion
24 Aug 2018
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion