This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Yamada, M. Articles by Mizusawa, H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Yamada, M. Articles by Mizusawa, H. Pubmed/NCBI databases Substance via MeSH

(Stroke. 1998;29:2488-2490.)
© 1998 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

Butyrylcholinesterase K Variant and Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

Masahito Yamada, MD, PhD; Nobuyuki Sodeyama, MD, PhD; Yoshinori Itoh, MD, PhD; Naomi Suematsu, MD, PhD; Eiichi Otomo, MD, PhD; Masaaki Matsushita, MD, PhD Hidehiro Mizusawa, MD, PhD

From the Department of Neurology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (M.Y., N. Sodeyama, H.M.); Departments of Internal Medicine (Y.I., E.O.) and Pathology (N. Suematsu), Yokufukai Geriatric Hospital; and Department of Neuropathology, Tokyo Institute of Psychiatry (M.M.), Tokyo, Japan.

Correspondence to Dr Masahito Yamada, Department of Neurology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45, Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan. E-mail m-yamada.nuro{at}med.tmd.ac.jp

Background and Purpose—Cholinesterases are found histochemically in the vessels affected with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). A gene for the K variant of butyrylcholinesterase (BCHE-K) may be associated with late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). In search of genetic risk factors for CAA, we investigated the association of BCHE-K with CAA.

Methods—The association between the severity of CAA and BCHE-K was investigated in 155 autopsy cases of the elderly, including 48 patients with AD.

Results—There was no significant association of BCHE-K with the severity of CAA in the total, AD, or non-AD cases. Status of the 4 allele of apolipoprotein E gene did not influence the results.

Conclusions—Our results may suggest that BCHE-K is not a definitive risk factor for CAA in the elderly, although further study with larger samples is necessary to confirm this.

Key Words: Alzheimer's disease • amyloid • cerebrovascular disorders • elderly • polymorphism (genetics)