Two Alzheimer's risk genes linked to brain atrophy

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The study (published in the advance online edition of the journal Neurobiology of Aging) is believed to be the first to directly link common variants of the genes -- ABCA7 and MA4A6A -- to atrophy in cortical and hippocampal regions of the brain, which are associated with memory and other key functions. It's also believed to be the first to link the atrophy to protein levels in the blood produced by the genes and could be used in Alzheimer's-related tests in the future.