A subtle decline in episodic memory often occurs prior to the
emergence of the full dementia syndrome in nondemented older
adults who develop Alzheimer's disease (AD). The APOE-ε4
genotype may engender a more virulent form of AD that hastens
this decline. To examine this possibility, we compared the rate
of decline in episodic memory during the preclinical phase of
AD in individuals with or without at least one APOE ε4 allele.
Nondemented normal control (NC; n = 84) participants,
nondemented older adults who subsequently developed dementia
within 1 or 2 years (i.e., preclinical AD; n = 20),
and patients with mild AD (n = 53) were examined with 2
commonly employed tests of episodic memory, the Logical Memory
subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale–Revised and the California
Verbal Learning Test. Results revealed a precipitous decline in verbal
memory abilities 1 to 2 years prior to the onset of the dementia syndrome,
but there was little effect of APOE genotype on the rate of this
memory decline. The presence of an APOE-ε4 allele, however,
did have a differential effect on the sensitivity of the 2 types
of memory tests for tracking progression and made an independent
contribution to the prediction of conversion to AD. (JINS,
2002, 8, 943–955.)
Association between ApoE ε4 Carrier Status and Cardiovascular Risk Factors on Mild Cognitive Impairment among Mexican Older Adults
