title: Apolipoprotein E genotype and progression of Alzheimer's disease: the Rotterdam Study.
abstract: The APOE*4 allele of the apolipoprotein E gene increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but whether it also affects the course of the disease is controversial. However, all studies on this issue until now have been based on patients at various stages of disease. In the present population-based study, 97 patients were included at a similar stage, i.e., before the onset of symptoms, and followed for up to 5 years. We found that the APOE*4 allele is not a strong determinant of survival in AD. As change in cognitive function and severity of dementia are similar for AD patients with and without APOE*4, our study suggests that progression of AD is not related to the APOE*4 allele.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Erasmus University Medical School, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. slooter@epib.fgg.eur.nl
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Slooter
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Houwing-Duistermaat
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: van Harskamp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cruts
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Van Broeckhoven
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Breteler
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofman
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stijnen
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: van Duijn
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000483:Alleles; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D003071:Cognition; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000145:classification*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D001057:Apolipoproteins E