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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 1, 1993                   TAG: 9303010105
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

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GENE MAY LINK HEART DISEASE, ALZHEIMER'S

Duke University researchers have discovered that a gene associated with one type of heart disease also is linked to the most common form of Alzheimer's disease.

A study to be published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports the finding of a single copy of a gene called APO-E4 in 64 percent of patients who have died from the noninherited form of late-occurring Alzheimer's.

Dr. Warren Strittmatter, one of the study's authors, said that by identifying the gene, researchers may be able eventually to develop a test that would tell people of their risk of getting Alzheimer's disease. "This protein has been known for a long time as the protein involved with cholesterol transport and cholesterol metabolism," he said.

- Associated Press

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