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 HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Irina, A. Articles by Hilkka, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Irina, A. Articles by Hilkka, S. Related Collections Risk Factors Other arteriosclerosis Lipid and lipoprotein metabolism

(Stroke. 1999;30:613-618.)
© 1999 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

ß-Amyloid Load Is Not Influenced by the Severity of Cardiovascular Disease in Aged and Demented Patients

Alafuzoff Irina, MD, PhD; Helisalmi Seppo, PhD; Mannermaa Arto, PhD; Riekkinen Paavo, Sr, MD, PhD Soininen Hilkka, MD, PhD

From the Department of Neuroscience and Neurology (A.I., S.H.) and A.I. Virtanen Institute (R.P.), Kuopio University; and Department of Pathology (A.I.), Division of Diagnostic Services, Chromosome and DNA Laboratory (H.S., M.A.), and Department of Neurology (S.H.), Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.

Correspondence to Irina Alafuzoff, MD, PhD, Departments of Neuroscience and Neurology and Pathology, Kuopio University, P-O-B 1627, Fin 70 211 Kuopio, Finland. E-mail irina.alafuzoff{at}uku.fi

Background and Purpose—This study was conducted to analyze the association between reported risk factors for Alzheimer's disease, apolipoprotein E 4 allele, and cardiovascular disease and neuropathological changes essential for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

Methods—Our data are based on clinical and postmortem evaluations of a cohort of nondemented (n=118) and demented (n=107) individuals. A cardiovascular index was calculated at autopsy to estimate the extent of cardiovascular disease. Neuropathological lesions such as senile/neuritic plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, ß-amyloid load, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, and the load of paired helical filaments were determined.

Results—The aforementioned neuropathological lesions did not show any positive significant correlation with cardiovascular index. In contrast, the extent of Alzheimer's lesions was significantly higher in those nondemented and demented patients carrying the apolipoprotein E 4 allele than in those without this allele.

Conclusions—Our results demonstrate that the apolipoprotein E 4 allele, but not cardiovascular disease, indeed influences the extent of Alzheimer's lesions seen in the brain tissue of demented patients as well as asymptomatic controls.

Key Words: aged • Alzheimer's disease • apolipoproteins • risk factors

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. Aho, J. Jolkkonen, and I. Alafuzoff {beta}-Amyloid Aggregation in Human Brains With Cerebrovascular Lesions Stroke, December 1, 2006; 37(12): 2940 - 2945. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Buerger, M. Ewers, T. Pirttila, R. Zinkowski, I. Alafuzoff, S. J. Teipel, J. DeBernardis, D. Kerkman, C. McCulloch, H. Soininen, et al. CSF phosphorylated tau protein correlates with neocortical neurofibrillary pathology in Alzheimer's disease Brain, November 1, 2006; 129(11): 3035 - 3041. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Bhargava, M. F. Weiner, L. S. Hynan, R. Diaz-Arrastia, and A. M. Lipton Vascular disease and risk factors, rate of progression, and survival in Alzheimer's disease. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol, June 1, 2006; 19(2): 78 - 82. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. S. Beeri, M. Rapp, J. M. Silverman, J. Schmeidler, H. T. Grossman, J. T. Fallon, D. P. Purohit, D. P. Perl, A. Siddiqui, G. Lesser, et al. Coronary artery disease is associated with Alzheimer disease neuropathology in APOE4 carriers Neurology, May 9, 2006; 66(9): 1399 - 1404. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. S. Honig, M.-X. Tang, S. Albert, R. Costa, J. Luchsinger, J. Manly, Y. Stern, and R. Mayeux Stroke and the Risk of Alzheimer Disease Arch Neurol, December 1, 2003; 60(12): 1707 - 1712. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]