Genetic polymorphisms in apolipoprotein E and glutathione peroxidase 1 genes in the Ecuadorian population affected with Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: The main objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of apolipoprotein E (Apo E) and glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1) polymorphisms and their influence on the development of Alzheimer disease (AD) in the Ecuadorian population.

Methods: The authors performed an analytic transversal case-control study. The study group (n = 39) consisted of patients with AD and dementia. The control group (n = 39) comprised elderly adults who have not been diagnosed with dementia and have the same age and education as the study group. Their inclusion period was from 2007 to 2008. Later on, after obtaining informed consent and after finishing a structural interview; the next step forward was to collect blood and extract DNA by standardized protocols. Besides, the authors performed polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique to determine the genotype of each individual.

Results: The authors found a positive association between ε4 and ε2 alleles of Apo E. The GPX1 gene shows an association of leu allele, whereas pro allele shows a negative association. The odds ratio test shows no significant relative risk.

Conclusions: Apo E is not a risk factor, nor a protective one for AD, whereas the leu allele of GPX1 is a possible risk factor for the disease.