Apolipoprotein E ε4 does not affect cognitive performance in patients with Parkinson's disease

David Mengel; Judith Dams; Jannis Ziemek; Julian Becker; Monika Balzer-Geldsetzer; Rüdiger Hilker; Simon Baudrexel; Elke Kalbe; Nele Schmidt; Karsten Witt; Inga Liepelt-Scarfone; Susanne Gräber; Annette Petrelli; Petra Neuser; Claudia Schulte; Katharina Linse; Alexander Storch; Hans-Ulrich Wittchen; Oliver Riedel; Brit Mollenhauer; Jens Ebentheuer; Claudia Trenkwalder; Thomas Klockgether; Annika Spottke; Ullrich Wüllner; Jörg B Schulz; Kathrin Reetz; Ines Ann Heber; Alfredo Ramirez; Richard Dodel

doi:10.1016/j.parkreldis.2016.04.013

Apolipoprotein E ε4 does not affect cognitive performance in patients with Parkinson's disease

Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2016 Aug:29:112-6. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2016.04.013. Epub 2016 Apr 19.

Authors

David Mengel¹, Judith Dams¹, Jannis Ziemek¹, Julian Becker², Monika Balzer-Geldsetzer¹, Rüdiger Hilker³, Simon Baudrexel³, Elke Kalbe⁴, Nele Schmidt⁵, Karsten Witt⁵, Inga Liepelt-Scarfone⁶, Susanne Gräber⁶, Annette Petrelli⁷, Petra Neuser⁸, Claudia Schulte⁶, Katharina Linse⁹, Alexander Storch¹⁰, Hans-Ulrich Wittchen¹¹, Oliver Riedel¹², Brit Mollenhauer¹³, Jens Ebentheuer¹⁴, Claudia Trenkwalder¹⁴, Thomas Klockgether¹⁵, Annika Spottke¹⁶, Ullrich Wüllner¹⁵, Jörg B Schulz¹⁷, Kathrin Reetz¹⁷, Ines Ann Heber¹⁸, Alfredo Ramirez¹⁹, Richard Dodel²⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Philipps-University, Marburg, Germany.
² Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
³ Department of Neurology, Goethe-University, Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
⁴ Department of Medical Psychology & Center for Neuropsychological Diagnostics and Intervention (CeNDI), University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany; Psychological Gerontology Institute of Gerontology, University of Vechta, Vechta, Germany.
⁵ Department of Neurology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany.
⁶ Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tuebingen, and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Tuebingen, Germany.
⁷ Psychological Gerontology Institute of Gerontology, University of Vechta, Vechta, Germany.
⁸ Coordinating Centre for Clinical Trials, Philipps-University, Marburg, Germany.
⁹ Department of Neurology, Technical University Dresden, Germany.
¹⁰ Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Rostock, Germany.
¹¹ Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
¹² Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology-BIPS GmbH, Bremen, Germany.
¹³ Paracelsus-Elena-Klinik, Kassel, Germany; Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany.
¹⁴ Paracelsus-Elena-Klinik, Kassel, Germany.
¹⁵ Department of Neurology, University of Bonn, and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, Germany.
¹⁶ Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; Department of Neurology, University of Bonn, and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, Germany.
¹⁷ Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; JARA - Translational Brain Medicine, Jülich and Aachen, Germany.
¹⁸ Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
¹⁹ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
²⁰ Department of Neurology, Philipps-University, Marburg, Germany. Electronic address: dodel@med.uni-marburg.de.

PMID: 27321987
DOI: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2016.04.013

Abstract

Introduction: Cognitive impairment is a common and disabling non-motor symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD). The apolipoprotein E (APOE) allele ε4 is a known risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and has also been suggested to be a risk factor for dementia in PD and even a predictor of impairment in certain cognitive domains.

Methods: A total of 447 PD patients (PD patients without cognitive impairment: n = 187; PD patients with mild cognitive impairment: n = 188; PD patients with dementia: n = 72) were included from an ongoing observational German multicenter cohort study (LANDSCAPE study). All patients underwent an extensive neuropsychological test battery, including assessments of memory, visuospatial functioning, attention, language, and executive function. APOE genotype was determined by an allelic discrimination assay. Linear regression analysis was used to explore the associations between APOE-ε4 and cognitive performance.

Results: The APOE-ε4 allele was not associated with a diagnosis of cognitive impairment in PD (PD with mild cognitive impairment and PD with dementia) or with deficits in specific neuropsychological domains in our study cohort.

Conclusion: Our data question the relevance of the APOE-ε4 allele as a predictor of cognitive impairment in PD.

Keywords: APOE; Cognitive impairment; Dementia; Genetic; Parkinson's disease.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Apolipoprotein E4 / genetics*
Cognition Disorders / etiology*
Cognition Disorders / genetics*
Cohort Studies
DNA Mutational Analysis
Female
Genotype
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests
Parkinson Disease / complications*
Parkinson Disease / genetics

Substances

Apolipoprotein E4