Alzheimer's Disease Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Alzheimer's Disease, including details on diagnosis, memory loss, heredity, treatment, medication.

Matrix metalloproteinase 3 haplotypes and dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The Rotterdam Study.

Reitz C, van Rooij FJ, de Maat MP, den Heijer T, Hofman A, Witteman JC, Breteler MM

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Erasmus Medical Center, P.O. Box 1738, 3000DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Evidence by post-mortem and animal studies suggests that matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) may play an important role in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) through degradation of amyloid beta. We investigated in 5999 elderly whether MMP3-haplotypes are associated with cognitive performance over time, dementia and AD. We also explored the association of MMP-3 haplotypes with changes in hippocampal volume and severity of periventricular and subcortical white matter lesions (WML). There was no association between any individual polymorphism or MMP-3 haplotypes and performance in MMSE over time, dementia or AD, and there was no association between MMP-3 genotypes or haplotypes with hippocampal volume or severity of periventricular or subcortical WML. These associations did not differ between strata of APOEepsilon4 genotype. Our observations do not suggest that variation in the MMP3 gene is causally involved in dementia or AD.

Published 28 April 2008 in Neurobiol Aging, 29(6): 874-81.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Alzheimer's Disease Research Today. All Rights Reserved.