IC‐P‐098: The role of APOE‐ɛ4 genotype in early mild cognitive impairment (EMCI): Preliminary results from ADNI‐2

Abstract

differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) between groups.Results: The neuropsychological assessment did not show an influence of ApoE4 on measures of memory or attention. Structural analyses with VBM and DTI did not reveal any significant differences in gray matter and white matter volume or in FA between groups. In contrast to the neuropsychological and structural findings, there was an effect of APOE-e4 on functional activation patterns during episodic memory associative encoding. Compared to the homozygote APOE-e3 group, APOE-e4 carriers showed reduced task-induced activation in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex bilaterally and in the left parietal cortex. Conclusions: These results suggest that the APOE-e4 genotype affects neuronal function in young adults but not microand macrostructure, as detectable with VBM and TBSS. These findings are relevant to the question of potential preclinical disease-driving factors, providing a rationale for further studies assessing functional neuronal aberration as a possible independent risk factor for the development of subsequent neurodegeneration at older age.