Investigating Olfactory Gene Variation and Odour Identification in Older Adults

Siddharth Raj; Anbupalam Thalamuthu; Nicola J Armstrong; Margaret J Wright; John B Kwok; Julian N Trollor; David Ames; Peter R Schofield; Henry Brodaty; Perminder S Sachdev; Karen A Mather

Journal article

Investigating Olfactory Gene Variation and Odour Identification in Older Adults

Siddharth Raj, Anbupalam Thalamuthu, Nicola J Armstrong, Margaret J Wright, John B Kwok, Julian N Trollor, David Ames, Peter R Schofield, Henry Brodaty, Perminder S Sachdev, Karen A Mather

GENES | MDPI | Published : 2021

DOI: 10.3390/genes12050669

Download PDF

Abstract

Ageing is associated with a decrease in odour identification. Additionally, deficits in olfaction have been linked to age-related disease and mortality. Heritability studies suggest genetic variation contributes to olfactory identification. The olfactory receptor (OR) gene family is the largest in the human genome and responsible for overall odour identification. In this study, we sought to find olfactory gene family variants associated with individual and overall odour identification and to examine the relationships between polygenic risk scores (PRS) for olfactory-related phenotypes and olfaction. Participants were Caucasian older adults from the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study and the Olde..

View full abstract

University of Melbourne Researchers

David Ames Author

Related Projects (4)

THE GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINANTS OF AMYLOID DEPOSITION IN OLDER INDIVIDUALS: AN AMYLOID IMAGING STUDY USING THE TWIN DESIGN

Alzheimer’s disease is characterised by the deposition of amyloid plaques in the brain. We don’t fully understand how amyloid deposition occ..

GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINANTS OF BRAIN NETWORKS IN AGEING

Is brain ageing genetically or environmentally determined, or an interaction of both? We will explore the influence of genes and the environ..

THE OLDER AUSTRALIAN TWINS STUDY (OATS) OF HEALTHY BRAIN AGEING AND AGE-RELATED NEUROCOGNITIVE DISORDERS

Ageing is associated with cognitive decline and dementia. It is still not completely understood what relative contributions genes and enviro..

GENE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION IN HEALTHY BRAIN AGEING AND AGE RELATED NEURODEGENERATION

Healthy ageing is characterised by low level of disability, high cognitive and functional capacity, and an active engagement in life. The mo..

Grants

Awarded by National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC)

Awarded by Australian Research Council (ARC) Strategic Award Grant of the Ageing Well, Ageing Productively Program

Awarded by NHMRC

Awarded by Centre of Research Excellence Grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia

Funding Acknowledgements

The Sydney Memory and Ageing Study has been funded by three National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Program Grants (ID No. ID350833, ID568969, and APP1093083). OATS has been funded by a NHMRC and Australian Research Council (ARC) Strategic Award Grant of the Ageing Well, Ageing Productively Program (ID No. 401162); NHMRC Project (seed) Grants (ID No. 1024224 and 1025243); NHMRC Project Grants (ID No. 1045325 and 1085606); and NHMRC Program Grants (ID No. 568969 and 1093083). OATS genotyping was partly funded by a Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Flagship Collaboration Fund Grant. This research was facilitated through access to Twins Research Australia, a national resource supported by a Centre of Research Excellence Grant (ID No. 1079102) from the National Health and Medical Research Council.