Hippocampal volume, brain atrophy, and APOE genotype after traumatic brain injury.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association between hippocampal volumes, general brain atrophy, and apolipoprotein E (APOE) polymorphism in patients with a remote traumatic brain injury (TBI).


METHODS
MRI-based volumetric analyses of the hippocampus and lateral ventricles were performed in 58 patients with TBI of varying severity on average 31.3 years after the trauma. The APOE genotype was determined using standard methods and correlated with the MRI volumetric measurements.


RESULTS
Hippocampal or lateral ventricle volumes did not differ significantly in those patients with the APOE-epsilon4 allele (APOE4) vs those without this allele.


CONCLUSIONS
The APOE-epsilon4 allele was not associated with the development of hippocampal or ventricular atrophy after traumatic brain injury. If the APOE-epsilon4 allele is associated with an unfavorable outcome after traumatic brain injury as proposed, this association may involve mechanisms other than those responsible for the development of brain atrophy.
Isoniemi
H
H
Department of Neurology, Turku University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland.
Kurki
T
T
Tenovuo
O
O
Kairisto
V
V
Portin
R
R
D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D001284:Atrophy; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D020547:Lateral Ventricles / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors
D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D012333:RNA, Messenger