CALS-Affiliate, Michael Gurven, publishes paper in Science Advances journal

Despite the APOE4 allele, a widely-known genetic contributor to Alzheimer’s, having negative outcomes in seniority, its high prevalence in modern populations confused researchers previously. Dr. Gurven’s research on the Tsimane population has shed light on the advantages in fertility that the gene provides, reducing the reproductive age and the interval between births. Dr. Gurven also noted how although the allele shows similar high frequencies in Tsimane populations as in the Westernized world, the Tsimane have among the lowest rates of dementia in the world, hinting at the existence of hidden environmental contributors in Alzheimer’s pathology.