Study of the association between Alzheimer's disease and angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism using DNA from lymphocytes.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) may play a role in cognition and memory. A recent study found that a 287-bp insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the ACE gene is associated with susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, this finding has not been replicated by all studies. These discrepancies may be due to the difference in ethnic background. Therefore, we investigated the possibility of such an association in 173 AD patients and 286 normal controls from a Chinese population. We found that there is an increased frequency of the ACE I allele in AD patients and the odds ratio for bearers of the I allele was 2.88. Our findings further support previous reports of an association between ACE polymorphism and AD. The implication of the ACE I/D polymorphism in the pathogenesis of AD warrants further exploration. Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel