title: Apolipoprotein epsilon 4 allele and disease progression in patients with late-onset Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: A random sample of 60 late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases from a population-based study were apolipoprotein E (apoE) genotyped and clinically examined with a 3-year interval. The epsilon 4 allele carriers had a significantly lower age of disease onset compared to non-epsilon 4 carriers. However, no significant differences were observed between epsilon 4 allele carries and non-carriers for Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) test scores at the first examination, in spite of a longer disease duration in the epsilon 4 allele carriers. After 3 years, MMSE test scores were still not significantly different between epsilon 4 carries and non-carriers but more than twice as many non-carriers had died. All other clinical features were similar between epsilon 4 allele carriers and non-carriers. This study indicates that the epsilon 4 allele is associated with a better prognosis of the disease in late-onset AD but that there are probably factors other than the epsilon 4 allele that are important for the AD phenotype.
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Family Medicine, Huddinge University Hospital, Sweden.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Basun
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grut
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Winblad
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lannfelt
mesh_terms: D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
chemical_list: D001057:Apolipoproteins E