Apolipoprotein E Polymorphism and Alzheimer’s Risk in Kashmiri Population

Background: Although the cause of Alzheimer's disease is unknown, most experts feel that the disease is caused by a combination of circumstances rather than a single cause. Age, gene polymorphism, diabetes, and other conditions are all risk factors for Alzheimer's disease. Given the importance of gene polymorphism in different diseases, we intended to find out the association of APOE gene polymorphism with Alzheimer's risk in the Kashmiri population. Method: Out of 300 patients who were referred to the memory clinic of the hospital, to evaluate the probable relation of APOE gene variation in Alzheimer's disease, we conducted the study on 59 clinically confirmed Alzheimer's patients and 52 age and ethnicity-matched healthy controls found in a community survey. Results: Our data revealed a statistically significant association of ε4 variant genotype of the APOE gene with AD susceptibility in the Kashmiri population. Conclusions: The current study's findings provided insight into the role of APOE polymorphisms in Alzheimer's disease susceptibility. The identified susceptibility variant may become a marker genotype for AD.

Apolipoprotein E Gene Polymorphism Effects on Lipid Metabolism and Risk of Cerebral Infarction in Northwest Han Chinese Population

Background: The apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genetic variation may be involved in the development of Cerebral Infarction (CI). Serum lipid levels are known risk factors for CI, but the effect of the ApoE gene polymorphism on lipid metabolism remains unclear. This retrospective cohort study aimed to determine the role of ApoE genotypes in CI risk and the relationships between ApoE gene polymorphism and serum lipid levels among the population of northwest China.patients and methods: 517 CI patients and 517 non-CI controls were enrolled in the study. Polymerase chain reaction and hybridization were used to test the ApoE gene polymorphisms.results: Patients with CI had a significantly higher frequency of ε3/ε4 genotype (OR =2.057, 95% CI = 1.477–2.864, P<0.001) and ε4 allele (OR =1.818, 95% CI = 1.364–2.424, P<0.001) than control participants. When stratifying by age and sex, it was found that statistically significant differences in the distribution and frequencies of the ε3/ε4 genotype(OR =3.067, 95% CI = 1.675–5.614, P<0.001 in age ≤60 years; OR =1.735, 95% CI = 1.156–2.604, P=0.008 in age >60 years and OR =2.206, 95% CI = 1.474–3.301, P<0.001 in males) and ε4 allele (OR =1.709, 95% CI = 1.201–2.432, P=0.001) in males and ε4 allele (OR =2.072, 95% CI = 1.281–3.353, P=0.003 in age ≤60 years; OR =1.704, 95% CI = 1.189–2.444, P=0.003 in age>60 years; OR =1.709, 95% CI = 1.201–2.432, P=0.001 in males and OR =2.046, 95% CI = 1.246–3.361, P=0.004 in females ) were observed between patients and controls. ε4 carriers had significantly lower ApoE level and higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), ApoB and ApoB/ApoA-I levels than ε2 carriers in both two groups. Additionally, control participants with ε4 carriers had significantly higher levels of lipoprotein and lower total cholesterol (TC) levels than ε2 carriers, CI patients with ε4 carriers had significantly lower level of ApoA-I than ε2 carriers. After adjusting for other established risk factors, drinking, hypertension, lipoprotein, triglycerides (TG) and ε4 allele were significant independent risk factor for CAD. ε4 allele presence was associated with a nearly two-fold higher CI risk.Conclusions: This study provides evidence that ε4 allele, drinking, hypertension, lipoprotein and TG levels are independent risk factor for CI among patients in Northwest China. Also, these data might be clinically useful in allowing for more individualized preventive and therapeutic strategies.

APOE Gene Associated with Cholesterol-Related Traits in the Hispanic Population

Genetic variants in the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene are associated with lipid metabolism and lipid-related traits in the non-Hispanic population. There have been limited studies regarding the association between the APOE gene and hypercholesterolemia in the Hispanic population; therefore, our aim for this study is to examine the APOE gene’s associations with cholesterol level and its related phenotypes. The APOE gene consists of three different alleles, ε2, ε3, and ε4, with ε4 being associated with dementia and cardiovascular diseases. A total of 1,382 subjects were collected from the Texas Alzheimer’s Research and Care Consortium (TARCC, N = 1320) and the Initial Study of Longevity and Dementia from the Rio Grande Valley (ISLD-RGV, N = 62). Questionnaires on demographics, medical history, and blood/saliva samples were collected and APOE genotypes were performed. We observed allele frequencies of the APOE ε3 (96.7%), ε4 (22.6%) and ε2 (6.8%) alleles, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression revealed a significant association between the APOE ε4 allele and hypercholesteremia (p = 1.8 × 10−4) in our studied Hispanic population. We prove for the first time, that the APOE ε4 allele increases the risk for hypercholesterol in Hispanics. Further research is needed to confirm and supports our current findings.

APOE E4 is associated with hyperlipidemia and obesity in elderly schizophrenic patients

Obesity is a critical issue in patients with schizophrenia, which is considered to be brought about by both environmental and genetic factors. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene polymorphisms might be involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, however, the effect of APOE gene polymorphism on obesity has never been investigated in Chinese aging with schizophrenia. This cross-sectional study was to investigate the effect of obesity on cognitive and psychiatric symptoms in elderly participants with schizophrenia. At the same time, we also discussed the inner link between APOE E4 and obesity. 301 elderly participants with schizophrenia and 156 normal controls were included in the study. Their cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), psychiatric symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and APOE gene polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The prevalence of obesity in elderly schizophrenic patients and healthy controls accounted for 15.9% (48/301) and 10.3% (16/156), respectively, with no statistically significant difference. By using stepwise linear regression analysis, we found that elevated fasting blood glucose, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia were risk factors for obesity in elderly schizophrenic patients. Although there was no direct correlation between APOE E4 and obesity in patients with schizophrenia, it was significantly correlated with hyperlipemia(r = − 0.154, p = 0.008), suggesting that APOE E4 may induce obesity in elderly patients with schizophrenia through hyperlipemia, However, the above conclusions do not apply to the normal elderly. What’s more, we did not find a link between obesity and cognitive function or mental symptoms for both patients with schizophrenia and normal controls. APOE E4 is associated with hyperlipidemia in elderly schizophrenic patients, which may be a risk factor for obesity, however, the above conclusion does not apply to the normal elderly.

Evaluation of APOE ɛ2/ɛ3/ɛ4 Alleles in a Cohort of Individuals Affected by Developmental Topographical Disorientation

The three common alleles of the APOE gene, ɛ2/ɛ3/ɛ4, have been linked to human spatial orientation. We investigated the genetic role of APOE in developmental topographical disorientation (DTD), a lifelong condition that results in topographical disorientation. We genotyped the APOE ɛ2/ɛ3/ɛ4 alleles in a cohort of 20 unrelated DTD probands, and found allele frequencies not statistically different from the those seen in the population as a whole. Therefore, we found no evidence that DTD occurs preferentially on a genetic background containing any particular APOE allele, making it unlikely that these APOE alleles are contributing to the development of DTD.