NO ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE ALPHA-1-ANTICHYMOTRYPSIN A-ALLELE AND ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE

The alpha 1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) A allele was recently associated wi th Alzheimer's disease (AD), and the ACT AA genotype was reported to b e more frequent in AD subjects with the apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilo n 4 allele. We examined ACT and APOE genotypes in a sample of 160 subj ects with probable AD and in 102 elderly control subjects. ACT A. alle le frequencies were similar in AD subjects (0.503) and elderly control s (0.519). In addition, we found no evidence that in AD the AA genotyp e is more frequent in subjects with the APOE E4 allele than in those w ithout it. Our results do not support an association between the ACT A allele and AD.