INCREASED APOLIPOPROTEIN-E EPSILON-4 IN EPILEPSY WITH SENILE PLAQUES

Inheritance of the apolipoprotein E (ApoE) epsilon 4 allele is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is associated with increased d eposition of beta-amyloid (A beta) in AD, Down's syndrome, and normal aging. A beta deposition in the form of senile plaques (SPs) has recen tly been described in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). We s tudied the relationship between ApoE epsilon 4 genotype and the deposi tion of A beta in temporal lobe tissue from patients who underwent tem poral lobectomy for intractable epilepsy. TLE patients with SPs had a 70% ApoE epsilon 4 carrier frequency compared with a 27% carrier frequ ency among age-matched TLE controls without SPs. Our data suggest that the association between ApoE epsilon 4 and intracerebral A beta accum ulation is not unique to the elderly or to those with dementia, and ma y be a feature of conditions in which there is both an ApoE epsilon 4 allele and overproduction of A beta precursor protein, and, presumably , A beta.