Association of apolipoprotein E variation with cognitive impairment across multiple neurodegenerative diagnoses

For many years there has been uncertainty regarding how apolipoprotein E (APOE) E2 and E4 variants may influence overlapping features of neurodegeneration, such as cognitive impairment. We aimed to identify whether the APOE variants are associated with cognitive function across various neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diagnoses (n = 513). Utilizing a comprehensive neuropsychology battery, multivariate multiple regression was used to assess the influence of APOE carrier status and disease cohort on performance across five cogniti ve domains. Irrespecti ve of disease cohort, E4 carriers had significantly lower performance in verbal memory and visuospatial domains than those with E3/3, while E2 carriers' cognitive performance was not significantly different. However, E2 carriers with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) performed significantly worse than those with E3/3 in the attention/working memory, executive function, and visuospatial domains. Our results highlight that the influence of APOE variation on cognition is complex, in some cases varying based on diagnosis and possibly underlying disease pathology. (C) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study found a complex relationship between APOE variants and cognitive function, with E4 carriers showing lower performance in verbal memory and visuospatial domains, while cognitive performance of E2 carriers did not differ significantly. Among patients with frontotemporal dementia, E2 carriers performed significantly worse in attention/working memory, executive function, and visuospatial domains compared to those with E3/3.