Antioxidant Status and APOE Genotype As Susceptibility Factors for Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's Disease and Vascular Dementia

Abstract Different factors interact to develop neurodegeneration in patients with dementia and other neurodegenerative disorders. Oxidative stress and the e4 allele of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) are associated with significant alteration in lipid metabolism, in turn connected to a variety of neurodegenerative diseases and aging. Thus, a better understanding of the pathogenetic pathways associated with lipid dyshomeostasis may elucidate the causes of neurodegenerative processes. To address this issue, we evaluated the effects of antioxidant status and APOE genotype on neurodegeneration in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (AD), with vascular dementia (VaD), and in elderly healthy controls. Eighty-two AD, 42 VaD patients, and 26 healthy controls were recruited and underwent medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) assessment, white matter hyperintensities rating (WMH), serum total antioxidant status assaying (TAS), and APOE genotyping. A logistic regression algorithm applied to our data revealed that a 0....