title: Apolipoprotein E allele frequencies in argyrophilic grain disease.
abstract: Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotypes were analyzed in 35 subjects with argyrophilic grain diseases (AgD). Neuropathologically, all cases were characterized by abundant argyrophilic grains in the hippocampus and in the entorhinal or parahippocampal cortex. We found an ApoE epsilon4 allele frequency of 0.007 in AgD patients, which is significantly different from the epsilon4 allele frequencies reported in age-matched Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients (0.24), but not from age-matched controls (0.09). We conclude that the ApoE epsilon4 allele does not constitute a risk factor for the development of AgD. Our results further suggest that AgD is a progressive disorder differentiated from AD by morphological and genetic criteria.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, Division of Neuropathology, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tolnay
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Probst
authors.forename: A U
authors.initials: AU
authors.lastname: Monsch
authors.forename: H B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Staehelin
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Egensperger
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000483:Alleles; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics; D053329:Apolipoprotein E2; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000737:chemistry; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis; D003704:Dementia / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000737:chemistry; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D053329:Apolipoprotein E2; D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D004247:DNA