title: Genetic Association between Neurotrophin-3 Polymorphisms and Alzheimer's Disease in Japanese Patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Some polymorphisms of the neurotrophin family have previously been investigated as candidate genes for Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present study, we examined whether neurotrophin-3 (NTF-3) polymorphisms are genetic risk factors in patients with AD.
  
  
  METHODS
  From a sample of 507 subjects, we recruited 248 age-matched subjects divided into 2 groups: AD patients (n = 143) and normal controls (NCs) (n = 105). We identified 3 representative NTF-3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): rs6332, rs6489630, and rs4930767. Next, we statistically compared the allele frequencies of each SNP between the AD and NC groups in the early-onset (<65 years) cases under a more limited age-matched condition.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found a significant association between rs6332 and the total group of AD patients (p = 0.013) and significant associations between both rs6332 (p = 0.033) and rs6489630 (p = 0.035) and early-onset AD patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that NTF-3 SNPs may not only be associated with AD itself, but also with early-onset AD in Japanese patients, assuming that the NTF-3 gene may have age-related effects on neurodegenerative diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Institute of DNA Medicine, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan ; Division of Molecular Genetics, Institute of DNA Medicine, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagata
authors.forename: Nobuto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Shunichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shinagawa
authors.forename: Ritsuko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.forename: Bolati
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kuerban
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohnuma
authors.forename: Heii
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamada
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Neurotrophin-3; Neurotrophins; Polymorphism; Single nucleotide polymorphisms