Association of APOE epsilon 4 allele with survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

APOE epsilon4 allele is associated with poorer outcome in degenerative neur ological diseases. Its role in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is still unclear. The aim of the present study was to further analyze the associati on of APOE epsilon4 allele with progression and survival of ALS. One hundred consecutive ALS patients (53 males) and 133 controls were genot yped for the APOE epsilon4 allele. The association of this allele with surv ival to death or tracheostomy was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier survival analysi s. The frequency of the APOE epsilon4 allele in ALS patients was slightly high er (15.1%) than in the control group (10.9%). Patients with or without an A POE epsilon4 allele had a similar age of onset and frequency of bulbar onse t. There was a significant shortening of the 50% probability of survival (b y 32 months) in patients carrying the APOE epsilon4 allele (p = 0.03). In conclusion, carrying an APOE epsilon4 allele is a poor prognostic factor in ALS. This is compatible with a role of apolipoprotein on neuronal survi val and repair. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.