Apolipoprotein E-dependent load of white matter hyperintensities in Alzheimer's disease: a voxel-based lesion mapping study.

Introduction: White matter (WM) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) hyperintensities are common in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but their pathophysiological relevance and relationship to genetic factors are unclear. In the present study, we investigated potential apolipoprotein E (APOE)-dependent effects on the extent and cognitive impact of WM hyperintensities in patients with AD.

Methods: WM hyperintensity volume on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images of 201 patients with AD (128 carriers and 73 non-carriers of the APOE ε4 risk allele) was determined globally as well as regionally with voxel-based lesion mapping.

Genetic interaction of PICALM and APOE is associated with brain atrophy and cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Evidence has emerged indicating that the ε4 allele of APOE and PICALM interact in conferring risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The biologic basis of this interaction is unclear, but it is likely to have phenotypic relevance and contribute to the structural and clinical heterogeneity of AD.

Methods: The aim of this study was to investigate interaction effects of the APOE ε4 allele and the alleles at the single-nucleotide polymorphism rs3851179 located in the PICALM locus.

APOE-dependent phenotypes in subjects with mild cognitive impairment converting to Alzheimer's disease.

Background: The E4 isoform of the APOE genotype is the most significant genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD) and has recently been found to modulate disease expression in patients with AD.

Objective: To investigate APOE-dependent cognitive and structural phenotypes in subjects with mild cognitive impairment who converted to AD within the following three years.

Methods: Subjects converting to AD (n = 63) were compared to a control group with stable mild cognitive impairment (n = 131).

The IT-infrastructure of a biobank for an academic medical center.

For high quality research in biomedicine an operable biobank is essential. In order to make optimal use of the material and the huge amount of data a sustainable IT-infrastructure is indispensable. Therefore, we developed a concept for the IT-infrastructure of a biobank for an academic medical center.

A data protection scheme for medical research networks. Review after five years of operation.

Background: The data protection requirements matured in parallel to new clinical tests generating more personal data since the 1960s. About ten years ago it was recognized that a generic data protection scheme for medical research networks is required, which reinforces patient rights but also allows economically feasible medical research compared to "hand-carved" individual solutions.

Objectives: To give recommendations for more efficient IT infrastructures for medical research networks in compliance with data protection requirements.