APOE ε4-Allele in Middle-Aged and Older Autistic Adults: Associations with Verbal Learning and Memory.

ABSTRACT: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability and recent evidence suggests that autistic adults are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease (Alz) and other dementias compared to neurotypical (NT) adults. The ε4-allele of the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is the strongest genetic risk factor for Alz and negatively impacts cognition in middle-aged and older (MA+) adults. This study aimed to determine the impact of the APOE ε4-allele on verbal learning and memory in MA+ autistic adults (ages 40-71 years) compared to matched NT adults. Using the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), we found that ε4 carriers performed worse on short-term memory and verbal learning across diagnosis groups, but there was no interaction with diagnosis. In exploratory analyses w

SUBMITTER: Harker SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10650864 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature