Investigating genetic overlap between severe Covid manifestation and susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease

Our studies on the genetic code in people with Alzheimer's disease have identified several genes that are associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's. These genes function in the immune cells of the brain, and research by us and others is currently testing exactly how these genes alter the function of these immune cells in people that develop Alzheimer's. Recent work has shown that at least one of the Alzheimer's risk genes we identified also determines whether an individual will also show critical illness with COVID-19. Our work therefore suggests that inheriting a common variant of this gene called OAS1 can increase the risk of developing both Alzheimer's disease and a severe response to COVID-19. Our current research is investigating the function of this OAS1 gene in different immune cell models. Understanding how this gene functions will allow us to predict better which people will develop Alzheimer's later in life and a severe response with COVID-19. Our work will also lead to the development of drugs and therapies to reduce the severity of these diseases, and also to lessen the neurological problems associated with COVID-19.