REDUCED CHOLINERGIC FUNCTION IN NORMAL AND ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE BRAIN IS ASSOCIATED WITH APOLIPOPROTEIN E4 GENOTYPE

Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is a potent risk factor for Alzheimer's diseas e. Since the loss of cholinergic function in Alzheimer's disease is kn own to occur at an early stage in the disease we have examined this fu nction in normal subjects with an Apo epsilon 4 allele to see if the d eficit occurs in the absence of Alzheimer pathology or symptoms. We re port that brain tissue obtained post-mortem from normal subjects and A lzheimer patients with an Apo epsilon 4 allele has a lower cholinergic activity than tissue from those subjects without this allele. This ha s important significance for the interpretation of the cholinergic def icits found in Alzheimer's disease. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.