title: The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene Val66Met polymorphism affects memory performance in older adults.
abstract: Memory impairment is an important contributor to the reduction in quality of life experienced by older adults, and genetic risk factors seem to contribute to variance in age-related cognitive decline. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is an important nerve growth factor linked with development and neural plasticity. The Val66Met polymorphism in the BDNF gene has been associated with impaired episodic memory in adults, but whether this functional variant plays a role in cognitive aging remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on memory performance in a sample of elderly adults.
  Eighty-seven subjects aged > 55 years were recruited using a community-based convenience sampling strategy in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The logical memory subset of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised was used to assess immediate verbal recall (IVR), delayed verbal recall (DVR), and memory retention rate.
  BDNF Met allele carriers had lower DVR scores (p = 0.004) and a decline in memory retention (p = 0.017) when compared to Val/Val homozygotes. However, we found no significant differences in IVR between the two groups (p = 0.088).
  These results support the hypothesis of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism as a risk factor associated with cognitive impairment, corroborating previous findings in young and older adults.
authors.affiliation: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (DCNL), Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lucas A de
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Azeredo
authors.affiliation: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (DCNL), Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: De Nardi
authors.affiliation: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (DCNL), Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mateus L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Levandowski
authors.affiliation: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (DCNL), Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Saulo G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Tractenberg
authors.affiliation: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (DCNL), Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kommers-Molina
authors.affiliation: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (DCNL), Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Gerontologia Biomédica, PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wieck
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tatiana Q
authors.initials: TQ
authors.lastname: Irigaray
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Gerontologia Biomédica, PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Irênio G da
authors.initials: IGD
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (DCNL), Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grassi-Oliveira
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000483:Alleles; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000235:genetics*; D008715:Methionine / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014633:Valine / Q000235:genetics*; D014888:Wechsler Scales
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D008715:Methionine; D014633:Valine