<i>APOE</i> ε4-Allele in Middle-Aged and Older Autistic Adults: Associations with Verbal Learning and Memory
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability and recent evidence suggests that autistic adults are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease (Alz) and other dementias compared to neurotypical (NT) adults. The ε4-allele of the Apolipoprotein E (<i>APOE</i>) gene is t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/21/15988 |
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| author | Samantha A. Harker Lamees Al-Hassan Matthew J. Huentelman B. Blair Braden Candace R. Lewis |
| author_facet | Samantha A. Harker Lamees Al-Hassan Matthew J. Huentelman B. Blair Braden Candace R. Lewis |
| author_sort | Samantha A. Harker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability and recent evidence suggests that autistic adults are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease (Alz) and other dementias compared to neurotypical (NT) adults. The ε4-allele of the Apolipoprotein E (<i>APOE</i>) gene is the strongest genetic risk factor for Alz and negatively impacts cognition in middle-aged and older (MA+) adults. This study aimed to determine the impact of the <i>APOE</i> ε4-allele on verbal learning and memory in MA+ autistic adults (ages 40–71 years) compared to matched NT adults. Using the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), we found that ε4 carriers performed worse on short-term memory and verbal learning across diagnosis groups, but there was no interaction with diagnosis. In exploratory analyses within sex and diagnosis groups, only autistic men carrying <i>APOE</i> ε4 showed worse verbal learning (<i>p</i> = 0.02), compared to autistic men who were not carriers. Finally, the <i>APOE</i> ε4-allele did not significantly affect long-term memory in this sample. These findings replicate previous work indicating that the <i>APOE</i> ε4-allele negatively impacts short-term memory and verbal learning in MA+ adults and presents new preliminary findings that MA+ autistic men may be vulnerable to the effects of <i>APOE</i> ε4 on verbal learning. Future work with a larger sample is needed to determine if autistic women may also be vulnerable. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:27:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dfad6201657e44cf86ecc70bbc14ff28 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:27:52Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-dfad6201657e44cf86ecc70bbc14ff282023-11-10T15:06:02ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672023-11-0124211598810.3390/ijms242115988<i>APOE</i> ε4-Allele in Middle-Aged and Older Autistic Adults: Associations with Verbal Learning and MemorySamantha A. Harker0Lamees Al-Hassan1Matthew J. Huentelman2B. Blair Braden3Candace R. Lewis4School of Life Sciences and Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USACollege of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USANeurogenomics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USACollege of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USASchool of Life Sciences and Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USAAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability and recent evidence suggests that autistic adults are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease (Alz) and other dementias compared to neurotypical (NT) adults. The ε4-allele of the Apolipoprotein E (<i>APOE</i>) gene is the strongest genetic risk factor for Alz and negatively impacts cognition in middle-aged and older (MA+) adults. This study aimed to determine the impact of the <i>APOE</i> ε4-allele on verbal learning and memory in MA+ autistic adults (ages 40–71 years) compared to matched NT adults. Using the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), we found that ε4 carriers performed worse on short-term memory and verbal learning across diagnosis groups, but there was no interaction with diagnosis. In exploratory analyses within sex and diagnosis groups, only autistic men carrying <i>APOE</i> ε4 showed worse verbal learning (<i>p</i> = 0.02), compared to autistic men who were not carriers. Finally, the <i>APOE</i> ε4-allele did not significantly affect long-term memory in this sample. These findings replicate previous work indicating that the <i>APOE</i> ε4-allele negatively impacts short-term memory and verbal learning in MA+ adults and presents new preliminary findings that MA+ autistic men may be vulnerable to the effects of <i>APOE</i> ε4 on verbal learning. Future work with a larger sample is needed to determine if autistic women may also be vulnerable.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/21/15988autismaginggenomicscognitionlearningmemory |
| spellingShingle | Samantha A. Harker Lamees Al-Hassan Matthew J. Huentelman B. Blair Braden Candace R. Lewis <i>APOE</i> ε4-Allele in Middle-Aged and Older Autistic Adults: Associations with Verbal Learning and Memory International Journal of Molecular Sciences autism aging genomics cognition learning memory |
| title | <i>APOE</i> ε4-Allele in Middle-Aged and Older Autistic Adults: Associations with Verbal Learning and Memory |
| title_full | <i>APOE</i> ε4-Allele in Middle-Aged and Older Autistic Adults: Associations with Verbal Learning and Memory |
| title_fullStr | <i>APOE</i> ε4-Allele in Middle-Aged and Older Autistic Adults: Associations with Verbal Learning and Memory |
| title_full_unstemmed | <i>APOE</i> ε4-Allele in Middle-Aged and Older Autistic Adults: Associations with Verbal Learning and Memory |
| title_short | <i>APOE</i> ε4-Allele in Middle-Aged and Older Autistic Adults: Associations with Verbal Learning and Memory |
| title_sort | i apoe i ε4 allele in middle aged and older autistic adults associations with verbal learning and memory |
| topic | autism aging genomics cognition learning memory |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/21/15988 |
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