This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (33)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Multiple Sclerosis/ Demyelinating Disease  • Genetic Disorders  • Genetics, Other  • Immunologic Disorders  • Alert me on articles by topic  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Preliminary Observations on APOE 4 Allele and Progression of Disability in Multiple Sclerosis

Joab Chapman, MD, PhD; Constanatin Sylantiev, MD; Puiu Nisipeanu, MD; Amos D. Korczyn, MD, MSc

Arch Neurol. 1999;56:1484-1487.

Background  Apolipoprotein E expression is increased in regenerating neural tissue and the APOE 4 allele is associated with impaired neuronal repair. Since repair is essential for the restoration of central nervous system function following multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses, APOE genotype may influence clinical progression of the disease.

Objective  To examine the association of the APOE genotype with disease susceptibility and progression in MS.

Patients and Methods  APOE genotyping was determined by polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme digestion in 47 patients with MS who had been followed up every 3 months for 2 years as part of an open-label clinical trial with glatiramer acetate. The Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) was used to assess clinical progression.

Results  Nine patients were heterozygous and 1 patient was homozygous for the APOE 4 allele, for a frequency of 12% (11/94), which is similar to that of the general Israeli population. The APOE 4 carriers had a mean ± SE EDSS score of 3.10 ± 0.45 at entry, which was not significantly different from the remaining 37 patients (2.62 ± 0.25). During the observation period, the EDSS score of the APOE 4 carriers deteriorated to 4.00 ± 0.63 while the other patients remained stable with an EDSS score of 2.74 ± 0.31. The interaction of genotype with disability over time was significant (P = .02 by repeated-measures analysis of variance). There were no differences in the number of relapses occurring in the 2 groups.

Conclusions  These preliminary observations suggest that APOE genotype may influence disease progression in MS. The APOE 4 allele was not associated with an increased risk of MS or relapses.

From the Department of Neurology and Neuroimmunology Clinic, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

RELATED ARTICLE

Archives of Neurology Reader's Choice: Continuing Medical Education
Arch Neurol. 1999;56(12):1538-1539.
FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Cognitive impairment in patients with multiple sclerosis: association with the APOE gene and promoter polymorphisms
Parmenter et al.
Mult Scler 2007;13:25-32.
ABSTRACT  

APOE epsilon variation in multiple sclerosis susceptibility and disease severity: Some answers
Burwick et al.
Neurology 2006;66:1373-1383.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Apo E in multiple sclerosis and optic neuritis: the Apo E-o4 allele is associated with progression of multiple sclerosis
Pinholt et al.
Mult Scler 2005;11:511-515.
ABSTRACT  

The pathology of primary progressive multiple sclerosis
Lucchinetti and Bruck
Mult Scler 2004;10:S23-S30.
ABSTRACT  

The pathology of primary progressive multiple sclerosis
Lucchinetti and Bruck
Mult Scler 2004;10:S23-S30.
ABSTRACT  

Genotypes at the APOE and SCA2 loci do not predict the course of multiple sclerosis in patients of Portuguese origin
Santos et al.
Mult Scler 2004;10:153-157.
ABSTRACT  

Lower Levels of N-Acetylaspartate in Multiple Sclerosis Patients With the Apolipoprotein E {epsilon}4 Allele
Enzinger et al.
Arch Neurol 2003;60:65-70.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The pathology of primary progressive multiple sclerosis
Bruck et al.
Mult Scler 2002;8:93-97.
ABSTRACT  

Interferon-{beta}-1b and interferon-{gamma} have similar inhibitory effects on apolipoprotein-E production in the monocyte/macrophage
O'Toole and Love
Mult Scler 2002;8:124-129.
ABSTRACT  

The effects of APOE genotype on age at onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases
Chapman et al.
Neurology 2001;57:1482-1485.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Apolipoprotein E {epsilon}4 is associated with rapid progression of multiple sclerosis
Fazekas et al.
Neurology 2001;57:853-857.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

APOE genotype is a major predictor of long-term progression of disability in MS
Chapman et al.
Neurology 2001;56:312-316.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Apolipoprotein E genotype related differences in brain lesions of multiple sclerosis
Fazekas et al.
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 2000;69:25-28.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT