Untangling huge literature to disinter genetic underpinnings of Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic review and Meta-analysis

Ageing Res Rev. 2021 Aug 6:101421. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2021.101421. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTDrug discovery for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is channeled towards unravelling key disease specific drug targets/genes to predict promising therapeutic candidates. Though enormous literature on AD genetics is available, there exists dearth in data pertinent to drug targets and crucial pathological pathways intertwined in disease progression. Further, the research findings revealing genetic associations failed to demonstrate consistency across different studies. This scenario prompted us to initiate a systematic review and meta-analysis with an aim of unearthing significant genetic hallmarks of AD. A Boolean search strategy was developed to retrieve case-control studies from PubMed, Cochrane, ProQuest, Europe PMC, grey literature and HuGE navigator. Subsequently, certain inclusion and exclusion criteria were framed to shortlist the relevant studies. These studies were later critically appraised using New Castle Ottawa Scale and Q-Genie followed by data extraction. Later, meta-analysis was performed only for those Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) which were evaluated in at least two different ethnicities from two different reports. Among, 2,04,351 studies retrieved, 820 met our eligibility criteria and 117 were processed for systematic review after critical appraisal. Ultimately, meta-analysis was performed for 23 SNPs associated with 15 genes which revealed significant associat...

Source: Ageing Research Reviews - August 9, 2021 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Hema Sree G N S V Lakshmi Prasanna Marise Kshreeraja S Satish Abhijna Vithal Yergolkar Mamatha Krishnamurthy Saraswathy Ganesan Rajalekshmi K Radhika Raghunadha R Burri Source Type: research