Apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 allele frequency in patients with Lewy body dementia, Alzheimer's disease and age-matched controls.
Genotypes of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) were determined by polymerase-chain reaction (PCR) amplification and restriction-sizing of brain DNA from 39 cases of Lewy body dementia (LBD), 68 senile Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and 47 neuropathologically validated non-demented controls. There was a 3-fold increase in the epsilon 4 allele frequency in both LBD and AD groups compared with controls. These results indicate that LBD and AD share the epsilon 4 allele of ApoE as a major risk factor for the development of disease and suggest a similarity in disease aetiology.
MRC Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK.
D
D
St Clair
J
J
Norrman
R
R
Perry
C
C
Yates
G
G
Wilcock
A
A
Brookes
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000483:Alleles; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012016:Reference Values; D015183:Restriction Mapping
D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D004247:DNA