APOE epsilon 4 influences the manifestation of Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down's syndrome.
BACKGROUND
Recent studies of the relationship between the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene and Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down's syndrome have revealed inconsistent results.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the role of the APOE gene in the manifestation of Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down's syndrome.


METHODS
We studied the APOE genotypes of 24 adults with dementia and 33 non-demented adults with Down's syndrome over 35 years of age, and an additional group of 164 non-learning disabled adults. We also carried out a meta-analysis of all previously published studies of association between APOE and Down's syndrome, incorporating the current data.


RESULTS
We observed a non-significant excess of APOE epsilon 4 and a reduction of epsilon 2 in adults with dementia compared with non-demented adults with Down's syndrome in our sample. However, meta-analysis showed a significantly higher frequency of epsilon 4 in adults with dementia compared with non-demented adults with Down's syndrome (odds ratio = 2.02, 95% CI 1.33-3.07, P = 0.001), but no significant reduction in the frequency of epsilon 2.


CONCLUSIONS
The APOE epsilon 4 allele acts as a risk factor for the age-specific manifestation of Alzheimer's disease in people with Down's syndrome.
Division of Psychological Medicine, University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff. Deb@Cardiff.ac.uk
S
S
Deb
J
J
Braganza
N
N
Norton
H
H
Williams
P G
PG
Kehoe
J
J
Williams
M J
MJ
Owen
D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors
D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E