The apolipoprotein є4 allele in Parkinson’s disease with and without dementia

Abstract

The є4 isoform of apolipoprotein E (Apo-E) may confer genetic susceptibility for familial and sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Because dementia in AD and Parkinson’s disease (PD) share many biologic and clinical features, we determined the Apo-E genotypes for 79 patients with PD, 22 of whom were demented, and for 44 age-matched healthy elderly controls from the same community. We hypothesized that if the dementia was similar to AD, there would be a higher allele frequency of apolipoprotein є4 (Apoє4) in demented PD patients compared with nondemented PD patients and controls. The є4 allele frequency for PD without dementia was 0.132, for PD with dementia, 0.068, and for controls, 0.102. There was no association between Apoє4 and dementia in the PD patients. We conclude that the biologic basis for dementia in PD may differ from that of AD. © 1994 American Academy of Neurology.