Analysis on association between the polymorphisms in apolipoprotein E, interleukin-1 alpha genes and Alzheimer's disease in Chengdu area / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the correlation between the polymorphisms of apolipoprotein E(APOE), the interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha ) genes and the susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease(AD).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Association study was performed in 114 AD patients and 113 healthy elderly individuals from Chengdu, China. Polymorphisms of APOE and IL-1 alpha genes were analyzed with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The frequency of APOE-epsilon 4-carrying genotype in moderate to severe AD patients (28.6%) was higher than that of mild patients (18.5%) and the controls (14.2%), and the difference between moderate to severe AD group and the control group was significant (OR=2.4, 95%CI: 1.1-5.5). The frequency of epsilon 4 was also of significant difference between the group of moderate to severe dementia and the control group (OR=2.6, 95%CI: 1.3-5.3). However, no significant difference in distribution of IL-1 alpha polymorphism between AD patients and controls was observed.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The APOE epsilon 4 allele was associated with moderate to severe AD while no association between the IL-1 alpha gene polymorphism and AD was found.</p>

The prevalence of mild cognitive impairment among residents aged 55 or over in Chengdu area / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the urban and the rural areas in Chengdu, Southwest China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Residents aged 55 or over were selected by stratified random cluster sampling from 19 districts, cities, and counties of Chengdu area in Sichuan province. A two-stage survey was carried out. In the first stage, CMMSE, CES-D were used as screening instruments. In the second stage, Diagnostic questionnaires of dementia and CDR were used as diagnostic instruments. The diagnostic criteria of mild cognitive impairment adopted from Petersen's were: (1) memory complaint; (2) normal activities of daily living; (3) normal general cognitive function; (4) memory impairment incompatible with age; (5) not demented; (6) CDR = 0.5 and (7) exclusion of the reversible cognitive impairment caused by other factors (i.e. depression).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Three thousand, nine hundred and ten subjects were examined. The prevalence rates of MCI was 2.4%. The MCI prevalence rates in the urban and the rural areas were 1.5%, 2.5% respectively, without significant difference. The MCI prevalence in males and females were 1.8%, 2.9% respectively. Prevalence rate in female was higher than in males with significant difference. Prevalence of illiteracy (4.0%) was the highest among different educational levels. The accumulated prevalence increased with age.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The prevalence of MCI (2.4%) was slightly higher than the prevalence of AD (2.05%) in the same areas of Chengdu. MCI seemed to be a high risk factor for AD which should to be followed up. Early intervention in MCI might be helpful in the prevention of AD.</p>