Introduction: Large variability among Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases might impact genetic discoveries and complicate dissection of underlying biological pathways.Methods: Genome Research at Fundacio ACE (GR@ACE) is a genome‐wide study of dementia and its clinical endophenotypes, defined based on AD's clinical certainty and vascular burden. We assessed the impact of known AD loci across endophenotypes to generate loci categories. We incorporated gene coexpression data and conducted pathway analysis per category. Finally, to evaluate the effect of heterogeneity in genetic studies, GR@ACE series were meta‐analyzed with additional genome‐wide association study data sets.Results: We classified known AD loci into three categories, which might reflect the disease clinical heterogeneity. Vascular processes were only detected as a causal mechanism in probable AD. The meta‐analysis strategy revealed the ANKRD31‐rs4704171 and NDUFAF6‐rs10098778 and confirmed SCIMP‐rs7225151 and CD33‐rs3865444.Discussion: The regulation of vasculature is a prominent causal component of probable AD. GR@ACE meta‐analysis revealed novel AD genetic signals, strongly driven by the presence of clinical heterogeneity in the AD series.
The most recent studies about mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are focused on the search for factors that make patients more vulnerable to conversion to dementia, mainly Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of this study was to determine which neuropsych
21 February 2011 in International Review of Psychiatry
This study explores acculturative stress as a risk factor for depressive and anxiety disorders as well as their symptomatology. It is hypothesized that perceived discrimination and general psychosocial stress will show the greatest association with psychopathology. The sample consists of 414 Latin American immigrant primary care patients in Barcelona. The instruments used are: the Barcelona Immigration Stress Scale (BISS) to evaluate acculturative stress, the Goldberg Anxiety and Depression Scale (GADS) for anxiety and depression symptoms, the Mini International Neurological Interview (MINI), a semi-structured interview, to detect psychiatric pathology, and a questionnaire for sociodemographic and attitudinal characteristics. The most elevated levels of acculturative stress were observed in the factors homesickness and general psychosocial stress. Acculturative stress is associated with depression and anxiety. With the covariants controlled, intercultural contact stress and general psychosocial stress maintain the relationship. Acculturative stress constitutes a risk factor for both depression and anxiety. General psychosocial stress and intercultural contact stress are related to psychopathology. Perceived discrimination and homesickness are not associated with psychopathology in the Spanish context, suggesting that cultural congruity plays a key role in the relationship between immigration and mental health.