Apolipoprotein E in Taiwan Chinese Patients with Dementia

Abstract

To clarify whether Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) share the same risk factors in Taiwan Chinese patients. Using the criteria of the NINCDS- ADRDA and NINDS-AIREN, 154 AD patients, 30 VaD patients, and 112 controls were enrolled. Their apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genes, extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes, were analyzed. The Ε4 allele frequency was significantly higher in AD patients than in the control group. The odds ratio of carrying at least one copy of the Ε4 allele in AD patients is 2.7 compared with control subjects. There was no significant difference between the VaD patients and the control subjects in their ApoE Ε4 or Ε2 allele frequency. The present study demonstrates a strong association between the ApoE Ε4 allele and AD, but not between the ApoE Ε4 allele and VaD. This suggests that AD and VaD do not share the same pathogenesis and deserve further investigation.