alpha 2-macroglobulin polymorphisms in Italian sporadic and familial Alzheimer's disease

A 5-bp deletion and a Val1000 polymorphism at the alpha (2)-macroglobulin ( A2M) gene have recently been reported to be associated with late onset Alzh eimer's disease (AD). As recently it has been suggested that the effect of the A2M gene on AD susceptibility may be limited to certain populations or families, we analyzed the segregation of A2M and apolipoprotein E polymorph isms in Italian sporadic and familiar AD. We analyzed the two polymorphisms in a total of 346 subjects including 98 controls by polymerase chain react ion-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Our data do not confir m these associations, in particular we found a significant decrease of the deletion allele in AD with respect to controls. Our data do not support a r ole for the A2M gene as genetic risk factor for AD. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scien ce Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.