The Potential Role of Epigenetics in Alzheimer's Disease Etiology

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an etiologically heterogeneous disorder. While many genes have been found to be associated with Early and Late onset AD, a large portion of the predicted heritability remains unidentified. Here we review AD pathology, with an overview of AD genetics. In addition, we review epigenetic mechanisms and the current literature that suggests a relationship between epigenetic mechanisms and AD pathology. The genome wide association studies conducted to date can explain a percentage of AD cases. The remainder may be best explained by complex interactions between epigenetic and environmental factors that differ between individuals.