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H Payami

Publications and source records attributed to H Payami.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Increased risk of familial late-onset Alzheimer's disease in women.

The role of gender in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an important issue that remains controversial. We compared men and women in late-onset familial AD kindreds for the risk of developing AD by studying 26 well-characterized familial AD kindreds from the Oregon Alzheimer Disease Center and, for confirmation, an additional 32 kindreds from the National Cell Repository (NCR) at the Indiana University Alzheimer Disease Center. Comparing women to men, the age-adjusted odds ratio estimates were 3.2 (p = 0.0002) for the Oregon data and 2.3 (p = 0.004) for the NCR data. These results suggest that gender is an independent risk factor for familial late-onset AD and may play a role in the pathogenesis of this disease.

Age of Onset

Gender difference in apolipoprotein E-associated risk for familial Alzheimer disease: a possible clue to the higher incidence of Alzheimer disease in women.

Late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD) is associated with the apolipoprotein E (APOE)-epsilon4 allele. In late-onset familial AD, women have a significantly higher risk of developing the disease than do men. The aim of this study was to determine whether the gender difference in familial AD is a function of APOE genotype. We studied 58 late-onset familial AD kindreds. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to assess genotype-specific distributions of age at onset. Odds ratios were estimated by logistic regression with adjustment for age and by conditional logistic regression with stratification on families. All methods detected a significant gender difference for the epsilon4 heterozygous genotype. In women, epsilon4 heterozygotes had higher risk than those without epsilon4; there was no significant difference between epsilon4 heterozygotes and epsilon4 homozygotes. In men, epsilon4 heterozygotes had lower risk than epsilon4 homozygotes; there was not significant difference between epsilon4 heterozygotes and those without epsilon4. A direct comparison of epsilon4 heterozygous men and women revealed a significant twofold increased risk in women. We confirmed these results in 15 autopsy-confirmed AD kindreds from the National Cell Repository at Indiana University Alzheimer Disease Center. These observations are consistent with the increased incidence of familial AD in women and may be a critical clue to the role of gender in the pathogenesis of AD.

Age of Onset

Genetic anticipation in Parkinson's disease.

We studied age at onset and family history of 137 patients (probands) with the diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). Probands (N = 21) who had an affected parent, aunt, or uncle were younger (p = 0.0001) at the onset of PD (47.7 +/- 8.8 years) than were probands (N = 11) who had an affected sib only (60.3 +/- 12.9 years) and probands (N = 105) who had no affected sib, parent, aunt, or uncle (59.2 +/- 11.4 years). Age at onset of affected family members differed significantly between generations (p = 0.0001). Age at onset was earlier, by an average of 17 years, in the proband generation than in the parental generation. The intrafamily variation in the calendar year of onset was too great to suggest a common point of exposure. Our data are most compatible with genetic anticipation, which could suggest involvement of an unstable trinucleotide repeat.

Age Factors

No evidence for association of familial Parkinson's disease with CAG repeat expansion.

In some kindreds, familial Parkinson's disease (PD) exhibits genetic anticipation. Thus, we postulated that familial PD in certain kindreds may be associated with a CAG repeat expansion. However, using the repeat expansion detection method, we found no significant increase in the frequency of CAG repeat expansion among 46 unrelated PD probands compared with controls. Nor did we find evidence for CAG repeat expansion between generations in 11 different PD families that exhibit anticipation in age at onset.

Adult

Increased risk of Parkinson's disease in parents and siblings of patients.

We studied the incidence of Parkinson's disease in 586 first-degree relatives (parents and siblings) of 114 randomly ascertained white patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and in 522 first-degree relatives of 114 age-matched unrelated white control subjects. Sixteen percent of patients had a family history as compared to 4% of control subjects (p < 0.01). The age-specific cumulative incidence was higher in the first-degree relatives of patients than in the first-degree relatives of control subjects (p = 0.007). The age-adjusted odds ratio was 3.5 (95% confidence interval: 1.3-9.4; p = 0.014). These results suggest that genes contribute to the etiology of Parkinson's disease.

Aged

The apolipoprotein E/CI/CII gene cluster and late-onset Alzheimer disease.

The chromosome 19 apolipoprotein E/CI/CII gene cluster was examined for evidence of linkage to a familial Alzheimer disease (FAD) locus. The family groups studied were Volga German (VG), early-onset non-VG (ENVG; mean age at onset < 60 years), and late-onset families. A genetic association was observed between apolipoprotein E (ApoE) allele epsilon 4 and FAD in late-onset families; the epsilon 4 allele frequency was .51 in affected subjects, .37 in at-risk subjects, .11 in spouses, and .19 in unrelated controls. The differences between the epsilon 4 frequencies in affected subjects versus controls and in at-risk subjects versus controls were highly significant (standard normal deviate [ZSND]) = 7.37, P < 10(-9); and ZSND = 4.07, P < .00005, respectively). No association between the epsilon 4 allele and FAD was observed in the ENVG or VG groups. A statistically significant allelic association between epsilon 4 and AD was also observed in a group of unrelated subjects; the epsilon 4 frequency was .26 in affected subjects, versus .19 in controls (ZSND = 2.20, P < .03). Evidence of linkage of ApoE and ApoCII to FAD was examined by maximum-likelihood methods, using three models and assuming autosomal dominant inheritance: (1) age-dependent penetrance, (2) extremely low (1%) penetrance, and (3) age-dependent penetrance corrected for sporadic Alzheimer disease (AD). For ApoCII in late-onset families, results for close linkage were negative, and only small positive lod-score-statistic (Z) values were obtained (model 1, maximum Z[Zmax] = 0.61, recombination fraction [theta] = .30; model 2, Zmax = 0.47, theta = .20). For ApoE in late-onset kindreds, positive Z values were obtained when either allele frequencies from controls (model 1, Zmax = 2.02, theta = .15; model 2, Zmax = 3.42, theta = .05) or allele frequencies from the families (model 1, Zmax = 1.43, theta = .15; model 2, Zmax = 1.70, theta = .05) were used. When linkage disequilibrium was incorporated into the analysis, the Z values increased (model 1, Zmax = 3.17, theta = .23; model 3, Zmax = 1.85, theta = .20). For the ENVG group, results for ApoE and ApoCII were uniformly negative. Affected-pedigree-member analysis gave significant results for the late-onset kindreds, for ApoE (ZSND = 3.003, P = .003) and ApoCII (ZSND = 2.319, P = .016), when control allele frequencies were used but not when allele frequencies were derived from the families.

Adult

Evidence for familial factors that protect against dementia and outweigh the effect of increasing age.

A positive family history is associated with increased risk for dementia. It is not known whether a negative family history with long-lived relatives predicts a reduced risk for dementia. We studied the survival rate and the occurrence of dementia in 232 parents and siblings of 43 optimally healthy individuals > or = 84 years of age and compared them with 233 parents and siblings of 51 random controls and 499 parents and siblings of 88 Alzheimer disease (AD) patients. Prevalence of dementia after age 60 years was .031 for the relatives of healthy elderly, .066 for the relatives of random controls, and .217 for the relatives of AD patients. The cumulative incidence of dementia by age 85 years was estimated as .041 (+/- .019) for the relatives of healthy elderly individuals, .102 (+/- .038) for the relatives of random controls, and .360 (+/- .037) for the relatives of AD patients. Hazard-ratio estimates suggest that the risk of dementia for the relatives of healthy elderly is 3 times lower than the risk for the relatives of random controls (P < .03) and is 11 times lower than the risk for the relatives of AD patients (P < .00005). An analysis of age at death indicated that the relatives of healthy elderly and the relatives of AD patients had a longer life span than did the relatives of random controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Age Factors

Lack of evidence for maternal effect in familial Alzheimer's disease.

Mitochondrial defects may be involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD) by lowering the oxidative phosphorylation efficiency at an earlier age. To investigate the possible contribution of an inherited mitochondrial DNA defect to familial AD (FAD), we examined the Genetic Analysis Workshop (GAW) data for evidence of maternal transmission and the effect on the age of onset. We found no evidence in support of inherited mitochondrial defects in the GAW FAD kindreds.

Age of Onset

Chromosome 14 and late-onset familial Alzheimer disease (FAD).

Familial Alzheimer disease (FAD) is genetically heterogeneous. Two loci responsible for early-onset FAD have been identified: the amyloid precursor protein gene on chromosome 21 and the as-yet-unidentified locus on chromosome 14. The genetics of late-onset FAD is unresolved. Maximum-likelihood, affected-pedigree-member (APM), and sib-pair analyses were used, in 49 families with a mean age at onset > or = 60 years, to determine whether the chromosome 14 locus is responsible for late-onset FAD. The markers used were D14S53, D14S43, and D14S52. The LOD score method was used to test for linkage of late-onset FAD to the chromosome 14 markers, under three different models: age-dependent penetrance, an affected-only analysis, and age-dependent penetrance with allowance for possible age-dependent sporadic cases. No evidence for linkage was obtained under any of these conditions for the late-onset kindreds, and strong evidence against linkage (LOD score < or = -2.0) to this region was obtained. Heterogeneity tests of the LOD score results for the combined group of families (early onset, Volga Germans, and late onset) favored the hypothesis of linkage to chromosome 14 with genetic heterogeneity. The positive results are primarily from early-onset families. APM analysis gave significant evidence for linkage of D14S43 and D14S52 to FAD in early-onset kindreds (P < .02). No evidence for linkage was found for the entire late-onset family group. Significant evidence for linkage to D14S52, however, was found for a subgroup of families of intermediate age at onset (mean age at onset > or = 60 years and < 70 years). These results indicate that the chromosome 14 locus is not responsible for Alzheimer disease in most late-onset FAD kindreds but could play a role in a subset of these kindreds.

Adult

Linkage and mutational analysis of familial Alzheimer disease kindreds for the APP gene region.

A large number of familial Alzheimer disease (FAD) kindreds were examined to determine whether mutations in the amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene could be responsible for the disease. Previous studies have identified three mutations at APP codon 717 which are pathogenic for Alzheimer disease (AD). Samples from affected subjects were examined for mutations in exons 16 and 17 of the APP gene. A combination of direct sequencing and single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis was used. Sporadic AD and normal controls were also examined by the same methods. Five sequence variants were identified. One variant at APP codon 693 resulted in a Glu-->Gly change. This is the same codon as the hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis-Dutch type Glu-->Gln mutation. Another single-base change at APP codon 708 did not alter the amino acid encoded at this site. Two point mutations and a 6-bp deletion were identified in the intronic sequences surrounding exon 17. None of the variants could be unambiguously determined to be responsible for FAD. The larger families were also analyzed by testing for linkage of FAD to a highly polymorphic short tandem repeat marker (D21S210) that is tightly linked to APP. Highly negative LOD scores were obtained for the family groups tested, and linkage was formally excluded beyond theta = .10 for the Volga German kindreds, theta = .20 for early-onset non-Volga Germans, and theta = .10 for late-onset families. LOD scores for linkage of FAD to markers centromeric to APP (D21S1/S11, D21S13, and D21S215) were also negative in the three family groups. These studies show that APP mutations account for AD in only a small fraction of FAD kindreds.

Adult

HLA-A2, or a closely linked gene, confers susceptibility to early-onset sporadic Alzheimer's disease in men.

There is a weak association between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the histocompatibility antigen HLA-A2, suggesting that A2 has either a minor role in AD or a major role in a subtype of it. To test these alternatives, we studied 54 consecutively ascertained AD patients diagnosed by NINCDS-ADRDA criteria. Patients had a higher frequency of A2 than control subjects, primarily due to the elevated frequency of this antigen in men with early onset of dementia (less than or equal to 60 years): 92% of early-onset men had A2 as compared with 44% of controls. This finding suggests that A2, or a closely linked gene, confers susceptibility to early-onset AD in men. Furthermore, A2 appears to be primarily associated with sporadic AD, rather than with the familial subtype.

Age Factors

Autoimmune thyroid disease in type I diabetic families.

The prevalence rate for autoimmune thyroid disease (ATD) is about 30 times higher in the type I diabetic (IDDM) families that were ascertained for Genetic Analysis Workshop 5 (GAW5) than in the general population. Two approaches were used to study the clustering of ATD and IDDM in these families: 1) HLA haplotype sharing in sib pairs in which one has IDDM and the other has ATD was analyzed with the genetic interrelationship method. The hypotheses of different alleles (at the same locus or at different loci) were rejected. Thus there must exist at least one common allele that predisposes to both IDDM and ATD. 2) The DR genotype frequencies suggest that in the GAW5 families two alleles may be predisposing to ATD; a recessive DR3-associated allele and a dominant DR4-associated allele.

Cross-Sectional Studies

HLA may be involved in resistance and susceptibility to affective disorders.

The role of HLA in susceptibility to affective disorders was assessed by sib pair linkage analysis and by association studies. Unipolar Disorder (UD) and Bipolar Disorder (BD) were studied separately. Both the sib pair data and the antigen frequency distribution suggested an HLA-linked susceptibility to UD. For BD however, the HLA haplotype sharing distribution in sib pairs was random, but the antigen frequencies suggested at least one positive association and one negative association with HLA. The lack of evidence for linkage to HLA from sib pairs may have been due to the genetic heterogeneity of BD.

Affective Disorders, Psychotic

Relative predispositional effects (RPEs) of marker alleles with disease: HLA-DR alleles and Graves disease.

A method is described to reveal the relative predispositional effects (RPEs) (predisposing, protective, or neutral) of the HLA alleles or of any other marker system that is associated with a disease. When the disease is associated with two or more alleles of a locus, the RPE method identifies the associations sequentially according to their strength; thus the problem that a strong association with one allele can create misleading deviations in the frequencies of other alleles is alleviated. Using this method, we have examined the relative effects of HLA-DR alleles in susceptibility to Graves disease in the Caucasian population. The well-established positive association with DR3 was confirmed as the strongest effect. In addition, a negative association was found between DR5 and Graves disease. The reduced frequency of DR5 among patients is statistically significant and is not a result of the increase in DR3. Finally, when patients were divided according to the presence or absence of eye disease, the latter showed a significant increase in the frequency of DR4. With family data, linkage to HLA of Graves disease was established in both Caucasian and Chinese families by the sib-pair method.

Alleles

A simple method to detect and estimate heterogeneity: application to Huntington disease, diabetes, and HIV seroconversion.

The traditional method for calculating risk in prospective and retrospective studies is based on the assumption that the study population is homogeneous. Risk is therefore estimated as an overall average for the entire population, when in fact some individuals may be at high risk and others at little or no risk. This paper introduces an alternate approach to risk estimation. The calculations are equally simple and utilize the same data. Yet, the new approach allows for heterogeneity and can detect it when it exists. The new method was applied to HIV seroconversion data from a follow-up study, age-at-onset distribution for Huntington disease, and age-specific prevalence of insulin-treated diabetes. These analyses were intended to demonstrate both applicability of the method to different types of data and the accuracy of the estimates when compared with the known parameters. The HIV analysis predicted a high-risk subgroup constituting about 17% of the cohort. This estimate closely approximates the actual 16% who reportedly engaged in high-risk activities and had a 15-fold higher seroconversion rate than the rest of the cohort. There is no evidence from genetic linkage studies for heterogeneity in Huntington disease. The present results, however, suggested that 14%-18% of individuals who are susceptible to the disease have a much lower risk than others. Diabetes data was chosen because the model is clearly too simplistic for this disease, and the analysis did reveal lack of fit of the model.

Adult