ABSTRACT
Objective. To evaluate the association of Apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) in Alzheimer's dementia (AD) with comorbid diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods. The study included subjects with Alzheimer's dementia (AD) (n = 209), individuals with non-Alzheimer's dementia (nAD) (n = 122), individuals with parental history of AD (f/hAD) (n = 70), and control individuals who had normal cognitive functions and no parental history of dementia (NC) (n = 193). Dementia was diagnosed using International Classification of Diseases-10 revision (ICD-10) criteria. DM was assessed on the basis of self-report and/or use of antidiabetic medications. ApoE genotyping was done using sequence-specific primer polymerase chain reaction. Results. ApoE4 allele frequencies were highest among AD with comorbid DM (0.35) followed by AD without DM (0.25), nAD with DM (0.13), nAD without comorbid DM (0.12), and NC (0.08). Frequency of ApoE4 in persons with f/hAD was 0.13. The association of AD with co-morbid DM in ApoE4 carriers was more in comparison to NC with DM (OR = 5.68, P = 0.04). Conclusion. There is a significant association between AD with co-morbid DM and ApoE4 genotype.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: To evaluate the ApoE gene polymorphism among patients with dementia from southern India. METHODS: Persons with dementia attending a geriatric clinic in a hospital setting located in southern India and matched controls were recruited. All subjects were evaluated on standard assessments and were diagnosed according to the ICD-10; genotyping was done at the apolipoprotein E (ApoE) locus. RESULTS: The study comprised 212 cases and 195 controls. The ApoE4 allele was significantly more prevalent in dementia (λ = 0.18 vs. λ = 0.07; p = 0.0018), especially in the Alzheimer's disease subgroup (n = 137; λ = 0.21 vs. λ = 0.07; p < 0.001), with a trend in vascular dementia subtype (n = 31; λ = 0.17 vs. λ = 0.07) in comparison with the control group. ApoE4 carrier status did not differ between the other dementia group (n = 44) and controls (p > 0.20), or between the Alzheimer's group and vascular dementia groups. Cognitive and functional deficits were not correlated to the presence ApoE4 polymorphism in the dementia group. CONCLUSION: The study confirmed the positive association of the ApoE4 polymorphism in dementia, both in the Alzheimer's and vascular etiology subgroups. Influence of this polymorphism on various clinical phenotypes, including extent of cognitive and functional deficits, needs further evaluation.
