Korean Researchers Develop Genetic Test to Predict Dementia Risk
- Seoyoung Kang
- Nov 19
- 1 min read
Seoyoung Kang
Nov 19, 2025
A Research Team in Korea, consisting of Samsung Medical Center and Yonsei University, has now developed a method to identify the risks of dementia through genetic testing.
Professors Heejin Kim and Honghee Won from Samsung Seoul Medical Center, with Jinsoo Seo from Yonsei University, structured a special scoring system called optPRS. This score uses information from many genetic variations to estimate how likely a person is to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is hard to predict because it’s affected by many different genes. In the past, scientists focused on only a few risk factors, which made their predictions less accurate.
The researchers studied data from about 1,600 patients and created a new system designed especially for Koreans. They found that people with a higher optPRS were 2.4 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. They also had about twice the risk of building up harmful proteins, such as amyloid, in their brains.
Professor Won said the new scoring system worked well for both Korean and Chinese data, meaning it could be useful for identifying people who are more likely to develop dementia in the future.
