title: APOE genotype and entorhinal cortex volume in non-demented community-dwelling adults in midlife and early old age.
abstract: The apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele is a risk factor for the neuropathological decline accompanying Alzheimer's disease (AD) while, conversely, the ε2 allele offers protection. One of the brain structures exhibiting the earliest changes associated with the disease is the entorhinal cortex. We therefore investigated the volumes of the entorhinal cortex and other structures in the medial temporal lobe including the parahippocampal gyrus, temporal pole, and inferior, middle, and superior temporal cortices, in relation to APOE genotype. Our main objectives were to determine if (a) volumes systematically varied according to allele in a stepwise fashion, ε2 > ε3 > ε4, and (b) associations varied according to age. We investigate this association in 627 non-demented community-dwelling adults in middle age (44 to 48 years; n = 314) and older age (64 to 68 years; n = 313) who underwent structural MRI scans. We found no evidence of APOE-related variation in brain volumes in the age groups examined. We conclude that if a ε2 > ε3 > ε4 pattern in brain volumes does emerge in non-demented adults living in the community in old age, it is not until after the age of 68 years.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cognition and Neuroimaging, Department of Psychology, Brunel University, London, UK. david.bunce@brunel.ac.uk
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bunce
authors.forename: Kaarin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Anstey
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cherbuin
authors.forename: Prapti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gautam
authors.forename: Perminder
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sachdev
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Easteal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D053329:Apolipoprotein E2 / Q000235:genetics; D053318:Apolipoprotein E3 / Q000235:genetics; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000235:genetics; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D003704:Dementia / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D018728:Entorhinal Cortex / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D012111:Residence Characteristics
chemical_list: D053329:Apolipoprotein E2; D053318:Apolipoprotein E3; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E