Lack of association of lobar intracerebral hemorrhage with apolipoprotein E genotype in an unselected population.

BACKGROUND

Both the upsilon2 and upsilon4 alleles of the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) have been reported to be overrepresented in lobar intracerebral hemorrhage and to be associated with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). These studies were performed primarily on the North American population and investigated in partly selected patient cohorts.

METHODS

193 consecutive patients suffering from primary intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) were included in our study. The localization of the ICH, i.e. cortico-subcortical, deep white matter, basal ganglia, brainstem and cerebellum, was put in relation to the APOE genotype and vascular risk factors. In 101 of these patients, the APOE genotype was also correlated to the presence and distribution of microbleeds and other microangiopathy-related damage, as shown by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

RESULTS

We found neither an association of a specific APOE genotype with ICH localization nor with microangiopathy-related MRI findings.

CONCLUSIONS

In our study of an unselected Central European population, the APOE genotype was not confirmed as a candidate for providing additional diagnostic and potentially prognostic information in patients with ICH.