Evolution of GWAS results through ADNI cohorts

Abstract

Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) of Alzheimer's disease with quantitative phenotype is an active field of research that has pointed out a number of SNPs potentially related to the disease. Some initiatives such as Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) have been established in order to proof whether anatomical or biological markers (from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography (PET)), genetic information, and clinical and neuropsychological assessments can be combined to measure the progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In the last decade, ADNI database has been progressively augmented, including a considerable number of patients yielding to the subsequent projects and cohorts ADNI1, ADNIGO, and ADNI2. Although some GWAS have been carried out with subpopulations of ADNI1, to the best of our knowledge, these works have not been replicated with the whole ADNI1 or the subsequent cohorts. In this work, we intend to study which SNPs are consistently preserved through ADNI cohorts in GWAS.