Jack Hildebrand

Apolipoprotein E: A Meta-Analysis its Effects on Children and Adults

Started Mar. 25, 2024

Abstract or project description

More than 500,000 children in the United States suffer a brain injury requiring medical evaluation annually. Different isoforms of the protein, apolipoprotein E (ApoE), have been shown to impact the outcome of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in adolescents and adults. Specifically, the ApoE4 allele is a strong risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD), while ApoE2 and ApoE3 have been shown to be protective against the neurodegenerative disease later in life. Adolescents who experience TBI and carry the ApoE4 allele have been shown to develop a variety of disorders later in life, one of which being AD. In several studies, the presence of the ApoE4 gene has been identified as one of the factors that influences the long term effects of TBI. A meta-analysis that examined over 300 cases of pediatric TBI found that at six months post-injury, there is a 2.6 times higher odds of poor outcomes in children that had at least one ApoE4 allele in comparison to children without the allele. Although ApoE4 has been extensively researched in the context of neurodegeneration in adults, new studies suggest the importance of studying this protein in the context of TBI in children. This review discusses recent research regarding the relationship between TBI and ApoE4-related neurodegeneration in adolescents and adults. This review addresses the question: How does ApoE4 affect the likelihood of neurodegenerative disease for those who have experienced TBI?