Apolipoprotein E genotype distribution in schizophrenia.

We examined the hypothesis that apolipoprotein E (apoE) isoforms-besides their well-established role in the aetiology of early and late onset Alzheimer's disease (AD)-may be involved in the development of schizophrenia. We determined apoE genotypes in 98 schizophrenic patients and 98 sex and age matched controls. No significant difference in apoE allele frequencies were observed between schizophrenic patients, subpopulations of schizophrenics, or controls. There was also no difference in the mean age at onset depending on the number of apoE epsilon 4 alleles found in the patients. Our data do not support an association between AD and schizophrenia based on apoE acting as a common denominator in the pathogenesis of both diseases.