Apolipoprotein E genotype in schizophrenia: frequency, age... : NeuroReport (original) (raw)

Clinical Neuroscience and Neuropathology

frequency, age of onset, and neuropathologic features

Arnold, Steven E.1,2,6; Joo, Eunjeong1; Martinoli, Maria-Grazia5; Roy, Nicholas5; Trojanowski, John Q.1,4; Gur, Raquel E.1,2; Cannon, Tyrone1,3; Price, R Arlen1

1Departments of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 142 Clinical Research Building, 415 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

2Departments of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 142 Clinical Research Building, 415 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

3Departments of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 142 Clinical Research Building, 415 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

4Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 142 Clinical Research Building, 415 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

5Department of Biochemistry, Universite du Quebec a Trois Rivieres, Quebec, Canada

6Corresponding Author: Steven E. Arnold

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (MH55199, MH43880, MO1RR0040), F.C.A.R. and N.S.E.R.C. (Canada). The authors express appreciation to the staff of the Schizophrenia MHCRC and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine for assistance in case evaluation.

Received 13 January 1997; accepted 14 February 1997

Abstract

A POLIPOPROTEIN E (ApoE) genotype has been found to affect the expression of a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. We determined ApoE genotype frequencies and their relationship to clinical and pathological features in a diverse cohort of individuals with schizophrenia. There were no differences in ApoE ε genotype frequencies between schizophrenics and controls. However, the ApoE '4 genotype was associated with a younger age of onset of schizophrenia, and in an elderly subsample, individuals with the ε4 allele more frequently exhibited co-existent dementia and had more neurofibrillary pathology (although none of the cases met criteria for Alzheimer's disease). This examination of ApoE in relation to clinical and neurobiological features of schizophrenia suggests that it modifies the phenotypic expression of the disease.