Lack of association between the APOE genotype and the response to statin treatment in patients with acute ischemic episodes

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: APOE genotype has been shown to have an influence on lipid concentrations. However, its relation with response to lipid-lowering treatment is not well established. The aim of our work was to analyze whether this genotype is associated with changes in the lipid profile in response to statins treatment. PATIENTS AND METHOD: A total of 222 consecutive patients with acute ischemic episodes and subjected to treatment with statins were included in a retrospective study. The patients' lipid profile was determined at the first visit to the Lipids Unit and after one year on a statin regime. APOE genotypes were determined by PCR-RFLP, and separated in three groups: E2 (E2 carriers), E4 (E4 carriers) and E3 (E3/E3). E2/E4 patients were not included in the study. RESULTS: Relative frequencies of alleles epsilon 2, epsilon 3 and epsilon 4 were 10.5%, 70.9% and 18.6% respectively. Significant differences among groups (p = 0.039) were observed for c-LDL concentrations. E2 group had lower c-LDL than E3 group (p = 0.017) and E4 group (p = 0.01). No significant differences in c-LDL, c-HDL and c-HDL/CT were observed among the three groups with regard to variation after statin treatment. CONCLUSION: APOE genotype does not significantly affect the lipid response in patients with acute ischemic episodes after statin treatment.