Source
Group of Chronic Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Bogotá, Colombia. mjacquier@hemagogus.ins.gov.co
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
As the strength of the association between the APOE epsilon4 allele and Alzheimer's disease (AD) varies across ethnic groups, we studied if there was such an association in Colombian patients.
METHOD:
We performed apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotyping in a clinical sample of 83 unrelated AD patients, predominantly late-onset (>65 yrs) including familial ( n =30) and sporadic AD cases (n= 53) diagnosed according to NINCDS-ADRDA criteria and assessed by a multi-disciplinary team. Control subjects (n = 44) had no significant cognitive impairment by medical interview and neuro-psychological testing.
RESULTS:
We found a high association (OR= 5.1 95%CI 1.9 -13.6) between APOE epsilon4 and AD, in this series with predominantly late-onset cases with familial aggregation in 24 cases (28.9%). A significant negative association was found between epsilon2 and AD (OR= 0.2 95% CI 0.05-0.75).
CONCLUSION:
Further population-based surveys in Colombia are warranted to precise a possible dose effect of APOE epsilon4.