APOLIPOPROTEIN-E EPSILON-4 ALLELE FREQUENCY IS NOT INCREASED IN PROGRESSIVE SUPRANUCLEAR PALSY

We examined apolipoprotein E (ApoE) immunoreactivity and allele freque ncy in 12 autopsied cases of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a n eurodegenerative disease characterized by diffuse neurofibrillary tang le (NFT) formation without beta-amyloid deposits. In spite of the ApoE immunoreactivity associated with NFTs, in PSP the ApoE allele frequen cy was comparable with that of age-matched normal controls. This sugge sts that in Alzheimer's disease the increased frequency of ApoE is an element of 4 does not influence neurofibrillary degeneration, but is p robably linked to beta-amyloid deposition.