Lack of common genetic factors for susceptibility to vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Since vascular risk factors commonly act for susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) by declining cognitive abilities, we conducted a genetic association study to identify their common underlying genetic factors. We selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) which had been previously discovered for association with AD, and case and control associations of VaD were examined with the individual SNPs using 207 patients with VaD and 207 sex- and age-matched control subjects. As a result, no significant associations of susceptibility to VaD with 13 selected SNPs were observed even without employing a multiple test (P > 0.05). This study suggests that genetics of VaD might be quite different from that of AD, and cautions should be taken especially when inferences about genetic factors are made with patients with mixed dementia. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.