Regional Differences in Effects of APOE ε4 on Cognitive Impairment in Non-Demented Subjects

Background: The APOE ε4 allele is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). APOE ε4 is common in non-demented subjects with cognitive impairment. In both healthy people and people with AD, its prevalence has a north-south gradient across Europe. In the present study, we investigated whether the re...

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Published in:Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders 2011, Vol.32 (2), p.135-142
Main Authors: Norberg, J., Graff, C., Almkvist, O., Ewers, M., Frisoni, G.B., Frölich, L., Hampel, H., Jones, R.W., Kehoe, P.G., Lenoir, H., Minthon, L., Nobili, F., Olde Rikkert, M., Rigaud, A.-S., Scheltens, P., Soininen, H., Spiru, L., Tsolaki, M., Wahlund, L.-O., Vellas, B., Wilcock, G., Elias-Sonnenschein, L.S., Verhey, F.R.J., Visser, P.J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apolipoproteins E - genetics
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition
Cognition Disorders - epidemiology
Cognition Disorders - genetics
Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases
Dementia - classification
Dementia - epidemiology
Dementia - genetics
Europe - epidemiology
Gene Frequency
Humans
Medical sciences
Medicin och hälsovetenskap
Neurology
Neuropharmacology
Original Research Article
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer
Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease)
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopharmacology
Reference Values
Topography, Medical
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Summary:Background: The APOE ε4 allele is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). APOE ε4 is common in non-demented subjects with cognitive impairment. In both healthy people and people with AD, its prevalence has a north-south gradient across Europe. In the present study, we investigated whether the relation between the APOE ε4 allele and cognitive impairment varied across Northern, Middle and Southern Europe. We also investigated whether a north-south gradient existed in subjects with subjective cognitive impairment (SCI), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and non-amnestic MCI. Methods: Data from 16 centers across Europe were analyzed. Results: A north-south gradient in APOE ε4 prevalence existed in the total sample (62.7% for APOE ε4 carriers in the northern region, 42.1% in the middle region, and 31.5% in the southern region) and in subjects with SCI and amnestic MCI separately. Only in Middle Europe was the APOE ε4 allele significantly associated with poor performance on tests of delayed recall and learning, as well as with the amnestic subtype of MCI. Conclusion: The APOE ε4 allele frequencies in subjects with SCI and amnestic MCI have a north-south gradient. The relation between the APOE ε4 allele and cognition is region dependent.
ISSN:1420-8008
1421-9824
1421-9824
DOI:10.1159/000330492