Apolipoprotein E Genotype Contributes to Motor Progression in Parkinson's Disease

Background: Emerging evidence indicates that the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 exacerbates α-synuclein pathology.

Objective: To determine whether APOE ε4 contributes to motor progression in early Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: Longitudinal data were obtained from 384 patients with PD divided into APOE ε4 carriers (n = 85) and noncarriers (n = 299) in the Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative. Participants underwent yearly motor assessments over a mean follow-up period of 78.9 months. Repeated measures and linear mixed models were used to test the effects of APOE ε4.

Results: The motor progression was significantly more rapid in patients with PD carrying APOE ε4 than in noncarriers (β = 0.283, P = 0.026, 95% confidence interval: 0.033-0.532). Through subgroup analysis, we found that the effect of APOE ε4 was significant only in patients with high amyloid β burden (β = 0.761, P < 0.001, 95% confidence interval: 0.0356-1.167).

Conclusions: APOE ε4 may be associated with rapid motor progression in PD. © 2021 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.