Poorer cognitive performance in humans with mild cognitive impairment carrying the T variant of the Glu/Asp NOS3 polymorphism.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transitional state between normal aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is a high-risk condition for dementia. The endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3) gene encodes endothelial NOS, an enzyme that regulates the production of the vasodilatory nitric oxide associated with the cerebral small vessel pathology observed in early AD. We studied the distribution of genotype and allele frequencies of the NOS3 Glu/Asp polymorphism in a sample of 62 MCI subjects and 136 controls. Though no association between NOS3 gene variation and MCI status was observed, MCI cases carrying the Asp variant (T+) performed worse in the Mini-Mental State Examination, Wechsler Memory Scale (Revised) long-term visual memory and the phonetic verbal fluency tests. These results suggest that the T allele is a genetic risk factor for cognitive impairment in the elderly.
Solé-Padullés
Cristina
C
Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, Facultat de Medicina, University of Barcelona, Casanova 143, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.
Bartrés-Faz
David
D
Junqué
Carme
C
Via
Marc
M
Matarín
Mar
M
González-Pérez
Emili
E
Moral
Pedro
P
Moya
Antoni
A
Clemente
Immaculada C
IC
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000235:genetics; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics*; D005838:Genotype; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000235:genetics*; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*
D001224:Aspartic Acid; D018698:Glutamic Acid; C496314:NOS3 protein, human; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III