In contrast to the modest progress made in the interpretation and clinical application of genomic data, genotyping technologies have experienced great progress. Genotyping costs are progressively decreasing making individual genotyping more commonly available. Financial availability of individual genome analysis and the strong desire of many people to know about their individual genomic characteristics, promotes the marketing of genetic tests of variable predictive value directly to the public. A survey of 2000 Russian respondents revealed very positive attitudes and beliefs towards these genetic developments: 85% of surveyed individuals would like to have their genetic risk for avoidable diseases estimated, and 89% responded stating that they would try to change their lifestyle by giving up bad habits, following a recommended diet or taking medications if a high risk of disease was identified. It is believed that with time, validated genetic information will find its rightful place in medicine, by supplementing phenotypic clinical data with validated genetic interpretations.

Although the tested variants were present in the neighboring, yet secluded, populations at the expected range of frequencies, the observed frequencies were significantly variable across Eurasian populations, indicating potential relevance to clinical decision making.

Many new genetic tests for common multifactorial disorders are becoming available to individuals, including direct-to-consumer genotyping services. Typically, studies of public attitudes reveal a high level of interest for individual genotyping. In a Russian urban population, 85% of 2000 respondents answered positively to a question about their own willingness to undergo predictive genetic testing for preventable health conditions. Gender, age and health status significantly influenced response. Multivariate discriminant analyses revealed that wanting to know about probable future diseases, readiness to improve lifestyles and an interest in learning about individual genome characteristics are the most important predictors for wanting to be tested. Along with the high level of interest, highly overestimated expectations were encountered in many studies. With the low predictive abilities of currently available genetic tests for common disorders, proper interpretation of the data and genetic counseling are essential. There is a need for prospective validation of genetic panels for risk assessments, and for efforts to measure the effects of genetic information disclosure and how this information might contribute to lifestyle changes.

Background Understanding regional differences in cognitive performance is important for interpretation of data from large multinational clinical trials. Methods Data from Durham and Cabarrus Counties in North Carolina, U.S. and Tomsk, Russia (n=2,972) were evaluated. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Trail Making Test Part B (Trails B), CERAD Word List Memory Test delayed recall (WLM), and self-report ADCS Mail-In Cognitive Function Screening Instrument (MCFSI) were administered at each site. Multilevel modeling measured the variance explained by site and predictors of cognitive performance. Results Site differences accounted for 11% of the variation on the MoCA; 1.6% on Trails B; 1.7% on WLM; and 0.8% in MCFSI scores. Prior memory testing was significantly associated with WLM. Diabetes and stroke were significantly associated with Trails B and MCFSI. Conclusions Sources of variation include cultural differences, health conditions, and exposure to test stimuli. Findings highlight the importance of local norms to interpret test performance.

No abstract

No abstract

Cognitive performance is an important endophenotype for various neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric traits. In the present study two genetic variants in the leucine-zipper protein (LUZP2) and the F-box 40 protein (FBXO40) genes, previously reported to be genome-wide significant for Alzheimer's diseases and schizophrenia, were examined for an association with cognitive abilities in normal elderly from the Russian population. Rs1021261 in the LUZP2 and rs3772130 in the FBXO40 were genotyped by multiplex PCR and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry in a sample of 708 normal elderly subjects tested for cognitive performance using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Association of genetic variability with the MoCA scores was estimated by parametric and nonparametric analysis of variance and by the frequency comparison between upper and lower quartiles of MoCA distribution. Significantly higher frequency of “TT” genotype of rs1021261 in the LUZP2 gene as well as “A” allele and “AA” genotype of rs3772130 in the FBXO40 gene was found in a subsample of individuals with the MoCA score less than 20 comparing to the fourth quartile's subsample (MoCA > 25). The data of the present study suggests that genetic variability in the LUZP2 and FBXO40 loci associated with neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases is also contributed to the normal variability in cognitive performance in the elderly.

Recently, genetic markers rs10503253 and rs2616984 in the CUB and Sushi multiple domains-1 (CSMD1) gene have been reported to be associated with schizophrenia and cognitive functions in genome-wide association studies. We examined the associations of the above SNPs with cognitive performance evaluated by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) tool in a cohort of the normal elderly from the Russian population. Significant association of rs2616984 genotypes with the MoCA scores was found using nonparametric analysis. No association of rs10503253 with MoCA scores was observed using both parametric and nonparametric statistics. Significant combined effect of two-locus CSMD1 genotypes on MoCA scores was demonstrated by median test. Allele “A” and genotype “AA” of rs2616984 were significantly associated with the lower MoCA scores in comparison of 1st and 4th quartiles of MoCA total score distribution. The results suggest that genetic variants in CSMD1 gene are likely a part of genetic component of cognitive performance in the elderly.