APOE EPSILON-4 ALLELIC ASSOCIATION WITH ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE - INDEPENDENT CONFIRMATION USING DENATURING GRADIENT GEL-ELECTROPHORESIS

There is intriguing evidence-associating apolipoprotein E (ApoE) with Alzheimer's disease (AD). ApoE is deposited with beta-amyloid in senil e plaques and binds to p-amyloid in vitro. We used denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis to identify ApoE epsilon 2, epsilon 3, and epsilo n 4 alleles in 135 control subjects and 57 AD patients. We observed a marked increase in ApoE epsilon 4 allele frequency (0.40) in AD patien ts compared with control subjects (0.14) (p < 0.0001). Our independent finding of a marked association of ApoE epsilon 4 allele with AD furt her supports a possible role of ApoE in the pathogenesis of AD and con firms the study of Saunders et al (Neurology 1993;43:1467-1472).