Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism as a risk factor for ischemic cerebrovascular disease

Abstract

The possible association of apolipoprotein E (apoE) DNA polymorphism with ischemic cerebrovascular disease was evaluated in 65 patients who had suffered completed stroke or transient ischemic attack and 330 healthy controls. ApoE genotypes were determined by restriction isotyping/MADGE analysis. Significant difference in apoE genotype frequencies between case and control group was observed (p<0.01). Patients affected by ischemic stroke had higher frequency of E4 allele and lower E2 allele than age-matched control subjects. Compared with persons without E4 allele, carriers of an E4 allele had 2.1 times higher risk of incident stroke. Our results indicate that the apoE gene polymorphism may be a risk factor for the development of ischemic cerebrovascular disease in Serbian population.