03354nas a2200409 4500008004100000022001400041245010800055210006900163260001600232300001200248490000700260520220200267653000902469653002202478653002202500653002202522653002202544653004002566653001102606653001902617653001302636653001702649653001502666653001102681653000902692653002102701653002602722653002102748653002002769100001402789700002402803700001702827700001802844700002802862700001802890856003602908 2007 eng d a1090-053500aApolipoprotein E gene and retinal microvascular signs in older people: the Cardiovascular Health Study.0 aApolipoprotein E gene and retinal microvascular signs in older p c2007 Nov 12 a2105-110 v133 a

PURPOSE: To examine the association between apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene polymorphism and retinal microvascular signs in an older population.

METHODS: Retinal photographs were taken of 2,152 participants (1,831 whites, and 321 African-Americans), aged 69-96 years, who were participating in a population-based study of four United States communities. We used standardized protocols to assess photographs for the presence of retinal microvascular signs (retinopathy, arterio-venous nicking, and focal arteriolar narrowing) and a computer-assisted method to measure retinal vessel diameters. We analyzed DNA extracted from blood samples of participants for common allelic variants of the APOE gene.

RESULTS: After adjusting for age, gender, systolic blood pressure, smoking, total serum cholesterol, and other risk factors, we found white participants carrying the epsilon2 and epsilon4 alleles were more likely to have arterio-venous nicking than the epsilon3/epsilon3 homozygotes, with odds ratio (OR) of 1.70 and confidence interval (CI) 95% (1.03-2.83) for the epsilon2 carriers and OR 1.74 (95% CI 1.06-2.84) for the epsilon4 carriers. Among white participants without hypertension, the associations remained significant for the epsilon4 carriers (OR 2.32, 95% CI 1.18-4.57). Whites, normotensive carriers of the epsilon2 allele had significantly narrower retinal arteriolar diameters (adjusted mean arteriolar diameter of 163.5 mum, 95% CI 160.1-167.0, p=0.03) compared to the epsilon3/epsilon3 homozygotes (167.8 mum, 95% CI 166.0-169.6). APOE gene polymorphism was not associated with retinopathy, focal narrowing, or retinal venular diameters in white participants. There were insufficient numbers of African-Americans for separate multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSIONS: This study provides little evidence that the APOE gene polymorphism plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of retinal microvascular changes in the general population. In the older white population, APOE epsilon2 and epsilon4 allele carriers were more likely to have arterio-venous nicking. Other retinal signs, however, were not related to APOE gene polymorphism.

10aAged10aAged, 80 and over10aApolipoprotein E210aApolipoprotein E410aApolipoproteins E10aEuropean Continental Ancestry Group10aFemale10aGene Frequency10aGenotype10aHeterozygote10aHomozygote10aHumans10aMale10aMicrocirculation10aPolymorphism, Genetic10aRetinal Diseases10aRetinal Vessels1 aSun, Cong1 aTikellis, Gabriella1 aLiew, Gerald1 aKlein, Ronald1 aLarsen, Emily, K Marino1 aWong, Tien, Y uhttps://chs-nhlbi.org/node/1003