Key result
The apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele was not a significant predictor of incipient Mild Cognitive Impairment, with similar genotype frequencies between those who developed MCI and those who remained healthy (12.9% vs 18.4%; p>0.5).
Why the study?
Does the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele predict the development of Mild Cognitive Impairment in cognitively healthy older adults?
Cohort
Does the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele predict the development of Mild Cognitive Impairment in cognitively healthy older adults?
Absolute Event Rate: 12.9% vs 18.4%
p-value: p=>0.5
The apoE ε4 allele is not a necessary or sufficient risk factor for the development of Mild Cognitive Impairment in initially cognitively healthy older adults.
ApoE ε4 does not predict incident MCI in healthy older adults; leaves open multifactorial etiology and alternative risk markers for future study.
The presence of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and of an apolipoprotein E (apoE) varepsilon4 allele both predict the development of Alzheimer's disease. However, the extent to which this allele also predicts the development of MCI is unclear even though MCI is an early transitional stage in the development of Alzheimer's disease. The present study investigates the prevalence of the apoE varepsilon4 allele in incipient MCI. Participants were recruited from the population-based Leipzig Longitudinal Study of the Aged (LEILA75+). All subjects who were initially cognitively healthy, i.e. did not meet MCI criteria described by Petersen [Petersen RC. Mild cognitive impairment. J Intern Med 2004; 256(3): 183-94], and whose apoE status could be determined were followed-up. After 4.5 years, 15.5% of the cognitively healthy target population had developed MCI. The frequencies of the apoE varepsilon4 genotype did not differ between individuals with incipient MCI (12.9%) and individuals who remained cognitively healthy during the study (18.4%, p>0.5). Consequently, the apoE varepsilon4 genotype is not a necessary or sufficient risk factor for MCI. Further studies need to investigate the influence of the whole range of genetic and environmental risk factors on the course of Alzheimer's disease including the initial development of MCI and the later conversion to Alzheimer's disease.
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Heun et al. (2009) conducted a cohort in Mild Cognitive Impairment. Incipient Mild Cognitive Impairment vs. Remaining cognitively healthy was evaluated on Frequency of the apolipoprotein E epsilon4 genotype (p=>0.5). The apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele was not a significant predictor of incipient Mild Cognitive Impairment, with similar genotype frequencies between those who developed MCI and those who remained healthy (12.9% vs 18.4%; p>0.5).
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