title: Lack of association between APOE gene polymorphisms and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a comprehensive meta-analysis.
abstract: Several studies have evaluated the association between APOE gene polymorphisms and the risk for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with inconclusive results. The aim of our study was to further define the risk associated with carriage of the APOE alleles and development and clinical characteristics of ALS. We performed a comprehensive meta-analysis of all existing studies investigating the association between the APOE gene and ALS published up to September 2013, comprising a total of 4249 ALS patients and 10,397 controls. Pooled odds ratios (OR) were estimated using the random effect (RE) model. Results showed that the carriage of different APOE alleles had no effect on disease risk. In particular, the ϵ4 allele was not associated with a significantly increased disease risk (ϵ4 carriers vs. non-ϵ4 carriers: RE OR 1.18; 95% CI 0.91-1.53). In conclusion, our study suggests that the APOE gene does not have a significant effect in ALS aetiopathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Neurology I, Department of Neuroscience "Rita Levi Montalcini", University of Turin , Italy.
authors.forename: Flora
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Govone
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vacca
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rubino
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gai
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boschi
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gentile
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Orsi
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pinessi
authors.forename: Innocenzo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rainero
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000235:genetics*; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D001057:Apolipoproteins E
keywords: APOE; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; gene; meta-analysis; polymorphism