Polymorphisms of apolipoprotein E gene and cognitive functions of postmenopausal women, measured by battery of computer tests - Central Nervous System Vital Signs.

OBJECTIVES: Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene belongs to the group of genes increasing the risk of the Alzheimer's disease (AD) development. The purpose of the study was the analysis of cognitive functions in postmenopausal women having different polymorphisms of APOE gene; battery of computer tests - Central Nervous System Vital Signs (CNS-VS) were employed.

METHODS: The women were qualified into the examined group on the grounds of clinical symptoms (minimum 2 years after the last menstruation), as well as on the basis of FSH concentration. At the qualification stage, a short test - Montreal Scale of Cognitive Function Assessment (MoCA) was conducted. The assessment of cognitive functions was made with the use of diagnostic CNS-Vital Signs equipment. Genomic DNA isolation was extracted from human whole blood. Multiplex PCR reactions have been performed in a single reaction tube with six (6) primers, consisting of 2 common primers and 4 specific primers [2 - for each of 2 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites].

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: About half of the examined postmenopausal women were placed below average in the majority of the examined cognitive functions. The biggest impairments occurred in the field of processing speed, and the smallest - in the field of verbal and visual memory. Polymorphisms of APOE gene were considerably linked with the level of results of the majority of cognitive functions among postmenopausal women, as measured by battery of computer tests - CNS-VS. The presence of ε2/ε3 polymorphism of APOE gene impacted positively the obtained results of cognitive functions, whereas the presence of ε3/ε4, or ε4/ε4 polymorphisms worsened the obtained results.