The relationships of the angiotensin converting enzyme gene polymorphism and cognitive function in senile depressive patients / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the relationships between angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism of insertion/deletion(I/D) and cognition function in senile depressive patients in Chinese Han population.Methods 97 patients with major depression were recruited according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,Fourth Edition criteria,and 103 healthy persons were used as controls.The Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and neuropsychological tests were used to assess depressive severity and cognitive function in all patients and 44 healthy controls,respectively.The intron 16 I/D polymorphism of ACE gene was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).Results The performances of neuropsychological tests in case group except TMT B were significantly poorer than those in control group (P＜ 0.001).Correlation analysis indicated that the total scores of HAMD were negatively associated with Digit Span Test forward score in senile depressive patients (r=-0.213,P=0.040).There were no significant differences between case and controls on genotype and allele frequencies of ACE gene(x-2 =1.745,P=0.418 ; x2 =0.700,P=0.403).And there were no significance in different sex,respectively (P ＞ 0.05).Furthermore,no significant differences of neuropsychological test performances were found between ACE genotypes of senile depressive patients (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Senile depressive patients have extensive cognitive impairments in the acute phase of illness,and working memory performance is correlated with depression severity.ACE gene Ⅰ/D polymorphism may not significantly associate with cognitive function in senile patients.