Tract based spatial statistic reveals no differences in white matter microstructural organization between carriers and non-carriers of the APOE ε4 and ε2 alleles in young healthy adolescents

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • King's College London (KCL)
  • Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH)
  • Heidelberg University 
  • Trinity College Dublin
  • University of Hamburg
  • University of Montreal
  • French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)
  • University of Vermont
  • University of Nottingham
  • Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
  • INSERM - Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale
  • University of Toronto
  • McGill University Health Centre
  • Karolinska Institutet

Abstract

The apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele is the best established genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and has been previously associated with alterations in structural gray matter and changes in functional brain activity in healthy middle-aged individuals and older non-demented subjects. In order to determine the neural mechanism by which APOE polymorphisms affect white matter (WM) structure, we investigated the diffusion characteristics of WM tracts in carriers and non-carriers of the APOE ε4 and ε2 alleles using an unbiased whole brain analysis technique (Tract Based Spatial Statistics) in a healthy young adolescent (14 years) cohort. A large sample of healthy young adolescents (n = 575) were selected from the European neuro imaging-genetics IMAGEN study with available APOE status and accompanying diffusion imaging data. MR Diffusion data was acquired on 3T systems using 32 diffusion-weighted (DW) directions and 4 non-DW volumes (b-value = 1,300 s/mm2 and isotropic resolution of 2.4×2.4×2.4 mm). No significant differences in WM structure were found in diffusion indices between carriers and non-carriers of the APOE ε4 and ε2 alleles, and dose-dependent effects of these variants were not established, suggesting that differences in WM structure are not modulated by the APOE polymorphism. In conclusion, our results suggest that microstructural properties of WM structure are not associated with the APOE ε4 and ε2 alleles in young adolescence, suggesting that the neural effects of these variants are not evident in 14-year-olds and may only develop later in life.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)977-984
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Alzheimer's disease
Volume47
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - 11 Aug 2015
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 26401776
ORCID /0000-0001-5398-5569/work/161890703

Keywords

Keywords

  • Apolipoprotein E, Diffusion tensor imaging, Magnetic resonance imaging, Tract based spatial statistics, Young healthy adolescents