Apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 allele has no effect on age at onset or duration of disease in cases of frontotemporal dementia with Pick- or microvacuolar-type histology

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the second most common cause of presenile dementia. Here we have investigated the frequency of the epsilon 4 allele o f the Apolipoprotein (APOE) gene in FTD and in other non-Alzheimer forms of dementia related to FTD such as Motor Neurone disease dementia, semantic d ementia, progressive aphasia, progressive supranuclear palsy, and corticoba sal degeneration. In none of these diagnostic groups did we find a signific ant increase in the APOE epsilon 4 allelic frequency, compared to populatio n values. Neither did me observe any affects of the epsilon 4 allele upon a ge at onset or duration of disease. Ne conclude therefore that polymorphic variations in the APOE gene do not modulate either the occurrence or progre ssion of these non-Alzheimer forms of dementia. (C) 2000 Academic Press.