Comparing International Gene Therapy Studies in Alzheimer’s Disease - A Review

Abstract

 Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a type of dementia, affecting more than 55 million people across the world. Given that there is no cure for AD, there has been a significant increase in research focused on identifying other possible treatment options. One such treatment option includes gene therapy, which involves the replacement of a missing or defective gene with a normal gene to reduce the development of amyloid plaques and tau proteins in the brain. However, much of this research focuses on treatment in higher-income populations, such as the US and Europe, and there is a need to understand the utility and effectiveness of these treatments in lower-income populations. This is especially critical given that over 60% of AD patients live in low- and middle-income countries (Figure 1). Understanding how gene therapy studies in these communities compare to those in the US has the potential to advance current clinical research for AD patients residing in low- and middle-income countries. In this review, current literature involving gene therapy for AD across different countries will be compared and analyzed to determine which gene therapies can be implemented in lower-middle income countries considering factors such as availability of resources, economic situation, and genetics.