Genetics consortiums can offer views facilitating best practice in Alzheimer's disease

BMJ 1998;317:471 ( 15 August )

Letters

Genetics consortiums can offer views facilitating best practice in Alzheimer's disease

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EDITOR $---$ Alzheimer's disease is often taken as an example of a disorder for which the impact of the new genetics will be met, ¹ ² and it was with this in mind that the United Kingdom Alzheimer'sDisease Genetics Consortium was formed. Members of the consortiumare clinicians involved in both genetics and dementia care, academics,members of lay organisations, and representatives from pharmaceuticalresearch; they meet to consider the consequences of the growingunderstanding of genetics in Alzheimer's disease. Through theconsortium we have participated in the discussions referred toby Gill and Richards,³ have suggested measures to ensure theethical conduct of genetic research,⁴ and are encouraging thecoordinated provision of clinical genetic services for early onsetfamilial Alzheimer's disease. More importantly, however, the collectiveview of the consortium has helped clinicians facing requests forgenetic testing for late onset Alzheimer's disease; current datasuggest that apolipoprotein E genotyping . . . [Full text of this article]