Alzheimer’s genetic study identifies 48 new risk loci and cellular pathways
Published in Bioinformatics, Brain/Neurology, Drugs development & discovery, Journals.
Published October 29, 2026.
A large genetic study published in Nature on October 28 identifies additional Alzheimer’s disease risk regions and highlights links to microglial and neuronal biology.
The analysis combined 30 cohorts, including 109,479 cases and 74,141 proxy cases, alongside more than two million controls and additional proxy controls. Proxy cases were genotyped people reporting parental Alzheimer’s disease, rather than necessarily having a diagnosis themselves.
The researchers identified 118 associated loci in a multi-ancestry analysis and nine additional loci in ancestry-specific analyses; 48 were newly reported. Genetic risk was enriched among genes more active in microglia and genes less active in neurons in Alzheimer’s samples compared with controls.
The findings prioritize biological pathways and possible targets for future drug research. They also improve research-level polygenic prediction, but do not provide a definitive individual diagnostic test or demonstrate a new treatment. European-ancestry participants accounted for 91% of the effective sample, underscoring the need for broader representation.
Source: Uffelmann et al., Nature. Published October 28, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-11206-y.