Apolipoprotein E promoter polymorphisms do not have a major influence on the risk of developing primary open angle glaucoma.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is a major cause of late onset visual failure of unknown etiology. Recent genetic association studies have implicated the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene in the pathophysiology of primary open angle glaucoma, but there have been conflicting findings. METHODS: To resolve this issue we studied 140 cases and 73 controls that were carefully phenotyped, and used a logistic regression model to simultaneously analyze the effect of apolipoprotein E genotype and functional polymorphisms in the apolipoprotein E gene promoter while controlling for potentially confounding variables. RESULTS: We found no evidence of an association between the apolipoprotein E promoter region polymorphisms and primary open angle glaucoma. CONCLUSIONS: Apolipoprotein E promoter polymorphisms are unlikely to have a major impact on the pathophysiology of primary open angle glaucoma.