Apolipoprotein IV (apo A-IV) has been related to fat absorption and to the activation of some of the enzymes involved in lipid metabolism. Several polymorphic sites within the gene locus for apo A-IV have been detected. Previous studies have shown that the A-IV-2 isoform produces a different plasma lipid response after the consumption of diets with different fat and cholesterol content. The pre...

Apolipoprotein (apo) E is a ligand for lipoprotein receptors and mediates the cellular uptake of several different lipoproteins. Human apoE occurs in three allelic forms designated E2, E3, and E4. The E2 isoform is associated with changes in lipoprotein metabolism, and the E4 isoform is associated with Alzheimer's disease and an increased risk of coronary heart disease. In this study transgenic...

amyloidotic polyneuropathy, and Down's syndrome. Vascular dementia is a poorly defined disease and its diagnostic criteria are still a matter of debate. We examined e4 frequency in 19 patients with mixed and vascular dementia (mean age, 81.7 years; SD, 95) and in 76 patients with Alzheimer's disease (mean age, 78.4 years; SD, 7.7) by using a phenotyping technique. Our results are different from...

High plasma levels of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] are considered to be an independent risk factor for premature cardiovascular disease and are inversely associated with apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)] isoform sizes. The contribution of apo(a) polymorphism to the inhibition of fibrinolysis, a mechanism that may favor thrombus development, was therefore evaluated by measuring the ability of Lp(a) particles...

Apolipoprotein (a) is a component of lipoprotein (a). Several studies have shown the association between risk of coronary heart diseases and the size of apo(a) isoforms, although this issue is still controversial. Recent researches focused the attention on the pentanucleotide (TTTTA), highlighting a statistical correlation between low Lp(a) levels and high repeat numbers. In the present paper w...

The most frequent human apolipoprotein (apo) E isoforms, E3 and E4, differentially affect Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk (E4 E3) and age of onset (E4 E3). Compared with apoE3, apoE4 promotes the cerebral deposition of amyloid (A ) peptides, which are derived from the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and play a central role in AD. However, it is uncertain whether A deposition into plaques is the m...

In this study, the relation of plasma levels of lathosterol (an indicator of whole body cholesterol synthesis) and plant sterols (indicator of cholesterol absorption) with age, sex, weight, height, plasma lipids, and lipoproteins, and with apolipoprotein (apo) E phenotype, was investigated in a group of 160 nuclear families consisting of twins living with their parents. Lathosterol was higher i...