ALZHEIMER PATHOLOGY OF PATIENTS CARRYING APOLIPOPROTEIN-E EPSILON-4 ALLELE

A recent report suggested that brains of Alzheimer patients homozygous for APOE epsilon 4 show increased amyloid pathology compared to APOE epsilon 3 homozygotes. We studied APOE allele frequencies in 73 AD pat ients and 38 controls. We also investigated relation of APOE genotypes to beta/A4 immunopositive plaques, cerebrovascular beta/A4 deposition , neurons expressing paired helical filaments (PHFs), and synaptophysi n-like immunopositivity in 22 neuropathologically verified AD patients . We also correlated APOE genotypes of definite AD patients to beta/A4 immunoreactivity in dermal vessel walls detected in lifetime skin bio psy samples. APOE allele epsilon 4 frequency was increased in AD compa red to nondemented controls (0.37 vs. 0.11; p = 0.006). The number of beta/A4 immunoreactive plaques, PHFs-containing neurons, the degree of cerebrovascular beta/A4 deposition or synaptophysin-like immunoreacti vity did not differ significantly in AD patients with or without epsil on 4. beta/A4 deposition in dermal vessel walls was more frequent in d efinite AD patients with epsilon 4 (43%) than in patients without epsi lon 4 (22%). However, the difference did not reach the statistical sig nificance.