The role of APOE alleles in incident Parkinson's disease. The Norwegian ParkWest Study.
OBJECTIVE
Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene alleles have been associated with various neurodegenerative disorders. However, there have been conflicting reports on associations between APOE alleles and Parkinson's disease (PD) and age at onset in PD. There exist no data on APOE alleles in an unselected cohort of patients with incident PD.


METHODS
To determine the role of APOE alleles in PD and age of onset in PD at time of diagnosis, 203 patients with incident PD and 187 healthy control subjects from Western and Southern Norway were investigated according to their APOE allele status.


RESULTS
No association was observed between any APOE alleles and susceptibility to PD or age at onset in PD.


CONCLUSIONS
In our cohort of unselected, incident PD patients APOE alleles do not seem to play a role for development of PD. Prospective, long-term follow-up may still reveal associations between APOE alleles and clinical and neuropsychological progression in PD.
Vefring
H
H
The Norwegian Centre for Movement Disorders, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway. kuma@sus.no
Haugarvoll
K
K
Tysnes
O-B
OB
Larsen
J P
JP
Kurz
Martin W
MW
D000368:Aged; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D018672:Community Health Planning; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*
D001057:Apolipoproteins E