Lee Ryan*, Justin Palmer and Matt Huentelman
The majority of individuals who carry the apolipoprotein ε4 allele will not develop dementia in their lifetime. Previous literature documents the elevated risk for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) among ε4 carriers. However, more recent evidence from longitudinal studies suggests that these risks may be overestimated. Nonetheless, many cross-sectional studies indicate that older ε4 carriers may experience poorer performance on tests of episodic memory compared to noncarriers. By themselves, these studies cannot disentangle ε4’s influence on brain structure and function from the effects of AD neuropathology. In this brief review, we discuss several ways in which ε4 can impact brain aging informed by animal models. We emphasize the importance of taking an individualized approach in future studies by incorporating blood and CSF biomarkers as well as novel neuroimaging pulse sequences that can help differentiate ε4’s role in cognitive aging from its impact on AD pathology
Published Date: 2024-05-13; Received Date: 2024-04-12
