apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism

Van Bockxmeer and Mamotte studied apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism in 91 Australian men 3--50 years of age with confirmed symptomatic coronary obstructive CAD who had been referred for coronary angioplasty. Each patient had at least one coronary artery with more than 50% luminal diameter obstruction (averaged from multiple views). Patients were compared with 172 healthy men. Five of the 19 CAD patients who were less than 40 years of age were homozygous for the e4 allele, representing a 16-fold increase in prevalence compared with controls. In CAD patients aged 40-50 years, e4 allele frequency was 60% higher than in controls. Moreover, CAD patients homozygous for e4 were 5 years younger, on average, than men with other genotypes (e.g., e3/e4). "Inheritance of e4 seems to confer risk of premature ischemic heart disease in males, homozygotes being especially at risk at a younger age," concluded the investigators.
source:Van Bockxmeer FM, Mamotte CDS. Lancet