Genetics are part of the biomarkers. Other biomarkers include the protein that I’ve referred to, amyloid, and then amyloid actually induces another protein called tau. Then those two together lead to cell death and the breakdown of our cells, which we would call neurodegeneration; that simply means our cells and the brain are dying. So those are biomarkers. Those can be obtained by PET scans, imaging scans or lumbar punctures. We’re also looking into ways of using simple blood tests to look for some of these.
When we look at all of these biomarkers together, this is how we’re studying the pathways to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. The more we know about our genetics, the more we know about these biomarkers and can figure out what the different factors that lead to Alzheimer’s are, when they come into play and the things we can do to stop the disease’s progression to produce meaningful results.