Precuneus degeneration in nondemented elderly individuals with APOE ɛ4: Evidence from structural and functional MRI analyses.

ABSTRACT: Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been recognized to exhibit disease-specific brain vulnerability patterns. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) ɛ4 allele imparts a high genetic risk of developing AD. Whether the APOE ɛ4 allele damages the brain when cognitive functions are still intact is important to understand, especially for possible early detection and intervention. This study aimed to examine the selective degeneration pattern associated with the APOE ɛ4 allele in the brains of cognitively normal elderly subjects. We enrolled 35 cognitively healthy ɛ4 carriers and 40 non-carriers (53 to 81 years old) to evaluate group differences in cortical thickness and brain activation during a memory-encoding task. We also assessed the functional connectivity of the brain region

SUBMITTER: Chen Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6866889 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature