Haplotype analysis of APOE intragenic SNPs.

Background: APOE ε4 allele is most common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cognitive decline. However, it remains poorly understood why only some carriers of APOE ε4 develop AD and how ethnic variabilities in APOE locus contribute to AD risk. Here, to address the role of APOE haplotypes, we reassessed the diversity of APOE locus in major ethnic groups and in Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) dataset on patients with AD, and subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and control non-demented individuals.