Objective: The apolipoprotein E (ApoE) Ε4 allele is a well-documented genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Its role, if any, in the progression of cognitive and functional impairment in AD has been the subject of discrepant reports in the literature. This study aimed to determine whether ApoE Ε4 dose is related to the progression of cognitive and functional decline in AD patients by combined retrospective and prospective analyses. Methods: A sample of 366 AD patients was genotyped for ApoE. Subjects received tests of cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE; Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale, ADAS-Cog) and daily function (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, IADL; Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living, ADCS-ADL) at baseline and at multiple subsequent time points during their participation in a variety of research protocols. In retrospective analyses, scores on baseline cognitive and functional measures were compared cross-sectionally among genotype groups, controlling for duration of symptoms. In prospective analyses, longitudinal rates of change for each measure were computed by linear regression and compared across genotype groups. Results: No association was observed between ApoE Ε4 dose and any of the retrospective or prospective measures of cognitive or functional decline in this AD patient sample. Conclusions: Although ApoE Ε4 increases the risk for AD and decreases the age of disease onset in population studies, it did not significantly influence the rate of disease progression in cognitive or functional domains in our sample.

PurposeThis study compares clinical and radiographic outcomes of operatively managed pediatric supracondylar humerus fractures between patients treated by pediatric orthopedists (POs) and patients treated by non-pediatric orthopedists (NPOs).Patients and methodsA retrospective cohort study of pediatric patients with surgically managed supracondylar humerus fractures was conducted. For clinical outcomes analyses, 3 months of clinical follow-up were required, resulting in a sample size of 90 patients (33 treated by NPOs, 57 by POs). For radiographic outcomes analyses, 3 months of both clinical and radiographic follow-up were required, resulting in a sample size of 57 patients (23 treated by NPOs, 34 by POs).ResultsThe rate of inadequate fracture fixation was higher for patients treated by NPOs (43.5 %) than for patients treated by POs (14.7 %; p = 0.030), but rates of clinical complications, malreduction, and postoperative loss of reduction did not differ. Treatment with open reduction was more common for patients treated by NPOs (33.3 %) than for patients treated by POs (3.5 %; p < 0.001). Total operating room time was longer for patients treated by NPOs (110.9 min) than for patients treated by POs (82.9 min; p < 0.001).ConclusionsWhile patients treated by POs differed from patients treated by NPOs with respect to several intermediate outcomes, including having a lower rate of open reduction and a lower rate of inadequate fracture fixation, there were no differences between POs and NPOs in the rates of the more meaningful and definitive outcomes, including clinical complications, malreduction, and postoperative loss of reduction.

The apolipoprotein E (ApoE) e4 allele is a well-documented genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). Its association with psychopathology among AD patients has been the subject of discrepant reports. We aimed to determine whether ApoE e4 + and e4-AD patients exhibit a different risk profile for psychotic symptoms and other behavioral disturbances. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) was administered to determine the frequency and severity of psychotic and other behavioral symptoms in a sample of n ¼ 266 AD patients who had been genotyped for ApoE. Multiple logistic regression models were used to calculate the association between the ApoE e4 allele and the presence of psychotic symptoms (delusions or hallucinations). Exploratory analyses were also conducted to determine the impact of disease severity on e4 effects and to examine the association between e4 and other behavioral symptoms. ApoE e4 was significantly associated with psychotic symptoms (odds ratio (OR) ¼ 1.87, 95% CI ¼ 1.07-3.29, P ¼ 0.029), adjusting for age, sex, education, and MMSE score. More stringent definitions of clinically significant psychosis yielded similar results. Exploratory analyses suggested that this effect accrued specifically from patients with severe-stage AD and primarily from an association between e4 and delusions. The e4 allele did not appear to influence the development of most other behavioral symptoms in our sample. In conclusion, AD patients who carry the ApoE e4 allele are at greater risk than noncarriers for developing psychotic symptoms, particularly as the severity of their dementia progresses.

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