Cited 83 times since 2007 (4.8 per year) source: EuropePMC Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Volume 55, Issue 11, 1 1 2007, Pages 1777-1785 Association between apolipoprotein E4 and cognitive decline in elderly adults. Packard CJ, Westendorp RG, Stott DJ, Caslake MJ, Murray HM, Shepherd J, Blauw GJ, Murphy MB, Bollen EL, Buckley BM, Cobbe SM, Ford I, Gaw A, Hyland M, Jukema JW, Kamper AM, Macfarlane PW, Jolles J, Perry IJ, Sweeney BJ, Twomey C, Prospective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk Group
Objective
To determine the influence of apolipoprotein E on cognitive decline in a cohort of elderly men and women.
Design
Prospective study.
Setting
Scotland, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
Participants
Five thousand eight hundred four subjects aged 70 to 82 from the Prospective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER).
Measurements
Subjects were assessed at baseline and over a mean 3.2-year (range 0.7-4.2) follow-up for memory (Picture-Word Recall), speed of information processing (Stroop and Letter-Digit Coding), global cognitive function (Mini-Mental State Examination), and activities of daily living.
Results
At baseline, subjects with apolipoprotein E(4) versus those without E(4) had poorer memory performance (mean score difference -0.20 (95% confidence interval (CI)=-0.31 to -0.09) for immediate recall and -0.32 (95% CI=-0.48 to -0.16) for delayed recall and slower information processing (difference in Stroop, 2.79 seconds, (95% CI=1.20-4.28); Letter-Digit score, -0.36, (95% CI=-0.77-0.05). Subjects with apolipoprotein E(4) showed a greater decline in immediate (-0.22, 95% CI=-0.33 to -0.11) and delayed (-0.30, 95% CI=-0.46 to -0.15) memory scores but no significant change in speed of information processing (Stroop, P=.17; Letter-Digit, P=.06). Memory scores decreased 2.5% from baseline in those without E(4), 4.3% in E(4) heterozygotes (P=.01 for immediate and P=.03 for delayed, vs no E(4)) and 8.9% to 13.8% in E(4) homozygotes (P=.04 for immediate and P=.004 for delayed, vs heterozygotes). Apolipoprotein E(4) was associated with greater decline in instrumental activities of daily living (P<.001). Cognitive decline was not associated with lipoprotein levels.
Conclusion
Findings in PROSPER indicate that E(4) is associated with more-rapid cognitive decline and may, therefore, predispose to dementia.
