ApoE epsilon4 allele and disease duration affect verbal learning in mild temporal lobe epilepsy.
Epilepsia
; 46(1): 110-7, 2005 Jan.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-15660776
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
To clarify the possible role of other factors including the ApoE epsilon4 allele for memory decline in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE).METHODS:
We conducted a neuropsychological and molecular study in 138 consecutive patients (78 female patients; mean age, 50.2 years, SD +/- 17.9; range, 14 to 87 years) with mild nonlesional TLE, who rarely or never had seizures at long-term follow-up. The mean age at seizure onset was 33.0 years (SD, +/-21.7), and the mean duration of epilepsy was 17.1 years (SD, +/-15.7).RESULTS:
Thirty-four (25%) of 138 patients had test scores indicating verbal learning deficit (VLD). The presence of an ApoE epsilon4 allele was associated with an increased risk of VLD (OR, 4.18; 95% CI, 1.66-10.55). The effect of the ApoE genotype was independent of both the age at epilepsy onset and disease duration as well as of a low educational level, which were separately associated with VLD (p values = 0.045, 0.001, and 0.001, respectively). A significant linear trend (p = 0.005) was seen in the relation between disease duration and cognitive impairment, with the highest risk being in patients with an epilepsy duration > or =25.5 years (OR, 7.06; 95% CI, 1.67-29.85), especially if they carried the epsilon4 allele (OR, 32.29; 95% CI, 5.23-195.72).CONCLUSIONS:
These results provide evidence for an alteration in cognitive performance as a function of the presence of the ApoE epsilon4 allele and point to the critical role of disease duration itself for cognitive impairment in TLE.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Apolipoproteins E
/
Verbal Learning
/
Cognition Disorders
/
Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe
/
Neuropsychological Tests
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
En
Journal:
Epilepsia
Year:
2005
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Italy