Cross-Species Analyses Identify Dlgap2 as a Regulator of Age-Related Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer\u27s Dementia.

Genetic mechanisms underlying age-related cognitive decline and dementia remain poorly understood. Here, we take advantage of the Diversity Outbred mouse population to utilize quantitative trait loci mapping and identify Dlgap2 as a positional candidate responsible for modifying working memory decline. To evaluate the translational relevance of this finding, we utilize longitudinal cognitive measures from human patients, RNA expression from post-mortem brain tissue, data from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of Alzheimer\u27s dementia (AD), and GWAS results in African Americans. We find an association between Dlgap2 and AD phenotypes at the variant, gene and protein expression, and methylation levels. Lower cortical DLGAP2 expression is observed in AD and is associated with more plaques and tangles at autopsy and faster cognitive decline. Results will inform future studies aimed at investigating the cross-species role of Dlgap2 in regulating cognitive decline and highlight the benefit of using genetically diverse mice to prioritize novel candidates

The Disproportionate Impact of Toxins in Consumer Products

The number of chemicals used in everyday products has grown exponentially over the last century. Many of these chemicals are known endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC’s) and they have not been proven to be safe for humans or for the environment. Rather, many of these chemicals have been linked to negative human health outcomes and damage to the environment. Corporate America is responsible for the production and liberal use of these chemicals in consumer and personal care products. The federal government has failed to provide effective or meaningful standards or regulations for the myriad chemicals of concern that make their way into innumerable daily-use products. The negative impacts from these failures by corporate America and the federal government are suffered disproportionately by women and children. Women use more products than men. Women and children are uniquely impacted by the hormone disruption caused by EDC’s. Women’s bodies carry more “foreign chemicals” than their male counterparts. Women are also disproportionately impacted by the care-giving burden associated with these negative health outcomes. While women shoulder a disproportionate share of the negative consequences, they at the same time, are underrepresented in the decision-making process regarding the manufacture and regulation of these chemicals. Through collective action, women can effect change and reduce exposures to toxins in products