The apolipoprotein E gene and its age-specific effects on cognitive function.
The E4 allele of the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) is a well-established determinant of Alzheimer's disease but its relation to cognitive function is much less understood. We studied the age-specific effects of the APOE*E4 allele on cognitive function and cardiovascular risk factors in 2208 related individuals. APOE*E4 allele was significantly associated with reduced test scores for Adult Verbal Learning Test, particularly on the memory and learning sub domains, in persons older than 50 years of age. The effect of APOE*E4 was independent of the effect of APOE*E4 on vascular risk factors and most pronounced on learning ability. Our findings suggest that APOE*E4 has an effect on cognitive function predominantly in the elderly, independent of vascular risk factors.
Liu
Fan
F
Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Pardo
Luba M
LM
Schuur
Maaike
M
Sanchez-Juan
Pascual
P
Isaacs
Aaron
A
Sleegers
Kristel
K
de Koning
Ingrid
I
Zorkoltseva
Irina V
IV
Axenovich
Tatiana I
TI
Witteman
Jacqueline C M
JC
Janssens
A Cecile J W
AC
van Swieten
John C
JC
Aulchenko
Yurii S
YS
Oostra
Ben A
BA
van Duijn
Cornelia M
CM
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000235:genetics*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol