Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is implicated not only in chronic degenerative neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, but also in acute brain disorders, including traumatic brain injury.
In the current article, we provide a comprehensive review of the structural and functional aspects of the APOE gene and its relationship with brain disorders.
Extensive research links apolipoprotein E (apoE) to brain function, with the E4 allele serving as a risk factor for brain disease, including Alzheimer's disease, and the E2 allele conferring protection.
Although mounting evidence points to the potentially complex interaction between these two brain disorders in which ApoE might play a role, the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown.
This may reflect an APOE related physiological heterogeneity which may or may not predispose to brain disease in the ensuing decades or, less likely, the effect of very early Alzheimer's disease related pathological changes.
To further elucidate the pathogenetic role of apolipoprotein E (Apo E) in degenerative brain disorders, we analyzed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of Apo E in 85-year-old subjects with dementia disorders.
The most dramatic and unexpected finding in this regard was made in early 1993, when it was reported that the presence of the APOE*4 allele is a significant risk factor for the development of late-onset familial Alzheimer's disease, a debilitating brain disorder.