pubmed:abstractText |
Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype is the most influential Alzheimer disease (AD) risk factor after advanced age. The APOE4 alleles decrease and the APOE2 alleles increase age at onset of AD. Human and nonhuman primate data suggest that in midlife, the structural integrity of myelin sheaths begins breaking down, with an accelerating age-related trajectory most evident in the brain's later-myelinating association regions. This may result in a progressive "disconnection" of widely distributed neural networks that may underlie the age risk factor for AD.
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pubmed:publicationType |
Journal Article,
Comparative Study,
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.,
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't,
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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