GENDER EFFECT ON APOLIPOPROTEIN-E EPSILON-4 ALLELE-ASSOCIATED RISK FOR SPORADIC ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE

Introduction - The role of gender in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and its possible interaction with apolipoprotein E (apoE). has been controver sial, Material and methods - ApoE allelic frequencies and the effect o f apoE epsilon 4 allele dosage on risk and age at onset of AD were eva luated, separately for men and women. in 100 patients with sporadic AD and 100 age-matched controls. Results - The distribution of apoE alle les and the odds ratio for AD, when associated with 1 or 2 epsilon 4 a lleles were not statistically different between men and women, No effe ct of the dosage of the epsilon 4 allele was found on the age at onset of dementia in the 2 sex groups Conclusion - Our data suggest that th e relation of the apoE genotype to AD is not dependent on sex.