Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism in Alzheimer patients in Northwest of Iran

Abstract

Background and Aims: Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of dementia among the elderly, is a progressive, degenerative disorder of the brain with a loss of memory, behavior and cognition. The APOE4 allele is the only established risk factor in the development of AD. However, as the APOE4 allele is neither necessary nor sufficient for the development of AD, this emphasizes the involvement of other genetic and/or environmental factors, which alone or in combination with APOE4 can modify the risk of AD. Methods: EDTA blood from 30 AD and 30 controls were collected and DNA was extracted. The gene was amplified with RFLP-PCR and alleles frequencies for APOE of them were performed. Then results compared between AD case and control subjects by ?2 test. Results: The frequencies of the APOE2, APOE3 and APOE4 alleles in total population were 0.075, 0.80 and 0.125 respectively (? 2= 4.018, P>0.05). A highly significant association was observed between the APOE4 and AD in this population. Conclusion: It seems that The APOE4 frequency in AD patients (18.33%) was about three times higher than in our normal population (8.33%). We suggest detect of APOE genotype for prediction of Alzheimer's disease.