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Protective effect of the apo ɛ 2 allele in major depressive disorder in Taiwanese
Author(s) -
Fan P.L.,
Chen C.D.,
Kao W.T.,
Shu B.C.,
Lung F.W.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2005.00686.x
Subject(s) - major depressive disorder , allele , allele frequency , genotype , apolipoprotein e , medicine , depression (economics) , polymorphism (computer science) , population , comorbidity , genetics , disease , biology , gene , macroeconomics , environmental health , amygdala , economics
Objective: Major depression is an important comorbidity in Alzheimer's disease, which is definitely associated with the apolipoprotein E (apo E) polymorphism. The aim of this study was to explore the role of the different apo E polymorphisms in major depressive disorder (MDD) in a Taiwanese population. Method: We examined apo E genotypes in 273 Taiwanese patients with MDD and 429 healthy community controls, and compared their polymorphism distribution. Results: The allelic frequency of apo ɛ 2 was significantly lower in patients with MDD than in the controls, whereas no significant difference in apo ɛ 4 allelic frequency between these two groups was found. Conclusion: The apo ɛ 4 allele was not associated with MDD in this study. However, the finding of a lower frequency of the apo ɛ 2 allele in MDD could lead to the conclusion that the apo ɛ 2 allele likely provides a protective effect against MDD in the Taiwanese population.