Alzheimer, the price of intelligence

Changes in the six genes that occurred 200.000-50,000 years ago can lead to an increase in neuronal connectivity. This would make man smarter, but also create Alzheimer's. Ed. ktsdesign/Dollar Photo Cl

Alhzeimer can be a collateral effect that modern man has become smarter. To this conclusion they have come in a recent research published in BioRxiv. According to this study, between 200,000 and 50,000 years ago there were a series of changes in the six genes related to brain development, which advanced through natural selection. According to the researchers, this could be related to a greater intelligence of modern man, but also with the appearance of Alzheimer. These six genes are related to this disease.

Alzheimer's disease is an exclusive disease of the human being, the rest of the primates do not have it. And recent studies indicate that the disease is closely related to hyperconnectivity and increased activity in synapses. In fact, researchers believe that changes in these six genes have led to increased neuronal connectivity. This would make man smarter and the price of this advantage could be Alzheimer's.

The aim of the research was to detect the traces that natural selection has left in the human genome. For this purpose, they have developed a new method capable of doing it much further back in time than with previous methods. Analyzing the genome of 90 human beings, an atlas of the changes that have thrived for 500,000 years by natural selection has been made. And among these changes have highlighted the events that occurred in these six Alzheimer related genes.