Study Reveals Genetic Link to Intellectual Disability and Early Financial Indicators of Cognitive Decline

Researchers Identify Gene Linked to Intellectual Disability

Scientists have discovered a genetic mutation responsible for causing a disorder that leads to intellectual disability, affecting up to one in 20,000 young people. This finding, reported in the journal Nature Medicine, highlights a non-coding gene, RNU4-2, among the nearly 1,500 genes previously associated with intellectual disability, which were predominantly protein-coding.

The research, supported by data from the British 100,000 Genomes Project, involved analyzing genetic sequences from 77,539 individuals, including 5,529 with intellectual disabilities. The study's senior author, Ernest Turro from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, noted the unexpectedly common occurrence of this disorder compared to other rare diseases linked to single genes.

Affected individuals show symptoms such as short stature, small heads, seizures, and low muscle mass. The discovery opens new diagnostic possibilities, potentially benefiting thousands of families. However, further research is needed to understand how these mutations cause the disorder and to develop possible treatments.

Study Links Cognitive Decline to Early Financial Troubles

A comprehensive study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Georgetown University found that individuals who later develop dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, face significant financial challenges years before their formal diagnosis. Researchers analyzed healthcare and credit data from nearly 2.5 million older Americans and discovered a marked increase in late mortgage and credit card payments beginning up to five years prior to diagnosis.

The study highlighted that people likely to develop dementia are 17.2% more likely to default on mortgage payments and 34.3% more likely to miss credit card payments one year before diagnosis. This pattern indicates early cognitive decline impacts financial behavior long before the disease is clinically recognized.

These findings suggest the need for early financial safeguarding measures for older adults, such as granting financial power of attorney to trusted individuals. The study also pointed out that Black individuals were more than twice as likely as their white counterparts to experience financial duress before diagnosis, likely due to pre-existing economic disparities and later diagnoses.

Researchers aim to develop predictive algorithms to identify early financial distress linked to cognitive decline, emphasizing the necessity for preparedness among older adults and their families.