Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Klinikum der Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.
J Alzheimers Dis. 2011;26(2):207-10. doi: 10.3233/JAD-2011-110356.
The apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele is the major genetic risk factor for the development of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), whereas the presence of the APOE ε2 allele seems to confer protection. Here, we report that healthy young APOE ε4 carriers have statistically significantly smaller hippocampal volumes than APOE ε2 carriers, while no differences were detected between the two groups in memory performance. The difference in hippocampal morphology is cognitively/clinically silent in young adulthood, but could render APOE ε4 carriers more prone to the later development of AD possibly due to lower reserve cognitive capacity.
载脂蛋白 E (APOE) ε4 等位基因是晚发性阿尔茨海默病 (AD) 发展的主要遗传风险因素，而 APOE ε2 等位基因的存在似乎具有保护作用。在这里，我们报告说，健康的年轻 APOE ε4 携带者的海马体体积明显小于 APOE ε2 携带者，而两组在记忆表现方面没有差异。在年轻成年期，海马体形态的差异在认知/临床上是无声的，但可能使 APOE ε4 携带者更容易发生 AD 的后期发展，可能是由于认知储备能力较低。
