Effects of the APOE ε4 allele on therapeutic response in Alzheimer’s disease

https://www.wendangku.net/doc/2b9321166.html, Review Article Effects of the APOE ε4 allele on therapeutic response in Alzheimer ’s disease

I Chien 1, Yuanhan Yang 1,2,3 (?)

1 Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, China

2 Department of Master ’s Program in Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, China

3 Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta ‐Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, China

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Received: 18 January 2016 Revised: 26 February 2016 Accepted: 29 February 2016 ? The authors 2016. This article is published with open access

at https://www.wendangku.net/doc/2b9321166.html,

KEYWORDS

The apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allelle is a well ‐established risk factor for cognitive decline. Racial factors may mitigate its effects. However, APOE ε4 has similar effects even among different racial groups. The APOE genotype in patients with Alzheimer ’s disease

may influence therapeutic decisions.

Citation Chien I, Yang YH. Effects of the APOE ε4 allele on therapeutic response in Alzheimer ’s disease. Transl. Neurosci. Clin. 2016, 2(1): 46–49.

1 Introduction Alzheimer ’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease with progressive loss of neuronal functions, which in turn results in memory deficits, cognitive deterioration, and impaired motor coordination. The increase in the aging population has led to an increasing prevalence of AD. However, no existing treatment can effectively halt the progression or prevent the onset of AD. AD is characterized neuro ‐pathologically by two hallmarks: intra ‐neuronal neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques [1]. The major factor associated with AD is aging, with family history playing an important secondary role. However, another common risk factor for AD is the ε4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene [2–4].

The APOE gene is localized on chromosome 19 and comprises three major alleles (ε2, ε3, and ε4). Of these alleles, ε4 has been identified as a genetic risk factor for AD [5]. Carriers have a higher risk with two APOE ε4 alleles (ε4/ε4)[6]. APOE ε4 is considered as a biomarker for the preclinical stage of AD [7]. In 2002, Lange et al. found that the APOE genotype had little effect on the rate of memory decline [8]. However, the results of most research studies tend to suggest that APOE ε4 is commonly associated with age ‐related cognitive decline [9, 10]. Although APOE ε4 is generally suggested to play a role in the onset of AD, the mechanism through which it exerts this effect remains unclear. Potential mechanisms include affecting amyloid ‐beta

? Corresponding author: Yuanhan Yang, E-mail: endlessyhy@https://www.wendangku.net/doc/2b9321166.html,

Translational Neuroscience and Clinics

ISSN print edition: 2096-0441 ISSN electronic edition: 2096-0670

CN print edition: 10-1319/R CN electronic edition: 11-6030/R

DOI 10.18679/CN11-6030/R.2016.012

Vol. 2, No. 1, March 2016, pp 46–49

Alzheimer ’s disease; apolipoprotein E