科研之友
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摘要
Background The apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene has been confirmed as the major genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) The effect of ApoE polymorphism on brain morphology still remains unclear in remains late-onset depression (RLOD) Methods A total of 37 patients with remitted geriatric depression were investigated with optimized voxel-based morphometry. We tested for differences in gray matter volume between ApoE epsilon 4 allele noncarriers (n = 25) and ApoE 1:4 allele carriers (n = 12) in RLOD patients Results. The volumes of right medial frontal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus and left inferior occipital gyrus were significantly smaller in RLOD patients with ApoE 1:4 allele carriers as compared to ApoE epsilon 4 allele noncarners There was a significant positive correlation between gray matter volume of right medial frontal gyrus and Digit Span Test score in RLOD patients with ApoE epsilon 4 allele carriers. Limitations This study is cross-sectional. therefore it cannot determine whether abnormal gray matter volume is a state marker or trait market of RLOD with ApoE epsilon 4 allele carriers Conclusion Our findings support the hypothesis that the ApoE genotype might be associated with structural changes in RLOD.
