Protective effect of the apo epsilon2 allele in major depressive disorder in Taiwanese.
OBJECTIVE
Major depression is an important comorbidity in Alzheimer's disease, which is definitely associated with the apolipoprotein E (apo E) polymorphism. The aim of this study was to explore the role of the different apo E polymorphisms in major depressive disorder (MDD) in a Taiwanese population.


METHODS
We examined apo E genotypes in 273 Taiwanese patients with MDD and 429 healthy community controls, and compared their polymorphism distribution.


RESULTS
The allelic frequency of apo epsilon2 was significantly lower in patients with MDD than in the controls, whereas no significant difference in apo epsilon4 allelic frequency between these two groups was found.


CONCLUSIONS
The apo epsilon4 allele was not associated with MDD in this study. However, the finding of a lower frequency of the apo epsilon2 allele in MDD could lead to the conclusion that the apo epsilon2 allele likely provides a protective effect against MDD in the Taiwanese population.
Fan
P-L
PL
Military Kaohsiung General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Chen
C-D
CD
Kao
W-T
WT
Shu
B-C
BC
Lung
F-W
FW
D000328:Adult; D053329:Apolipoprotein E2; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency / Q000235:genetics*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013624:Taiwan
D053329:Apolipoprotein E2; D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D017931:DNA Primers