What Are the Implications of Methylation in Disease?
Aberrant methylation patterns are often early indicators of various diseases. For instance, in cancer, hypermethylation of promoter regions in tumor suppressor genes can lead to their inactivation, while hypomethylation can activate oncogenes. Methylation patterns are also implicated in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, where changes in methylation can affect neuronal function and survival.
