Please help me with results!

[jaydangelo]

Hello, hoping someone can help me with this. I have my 23andme results and got a report through mthfrsupport as I was interested in other health issues. These are the results I have for APOE.. I have tried looking at the snpedia site and still can't interpret them. Can anyone here help me with this or refer me to someone that can? Do I have enough information to determine my alzheimers risk? I am only 44 and have some legitimate concerns already. From what I can tell, these results show significant risk, but I don't want to be uninformed. Please can someone help with me with this!??

Screen Shot 2019-05-16 at 9.00.22 AM.png

[NF52]

Hello, hoping someone can help me with this. I have my 23andme results and got a report through mthfrsupport as I was interested in other health issues. These are the results I have for APOE.. I have tried looking at the snpedia site and still can't interpret them. Can anyone here help me with this or refer me to someone that can? Do I have enough information to determine my alzheimers risk? I am only 44 and have some legitimate concerns already. From what I can tell, these results show significant risk, but I don't want to be uninformed. Please can someone help with me with this!??Screen Shot 2019-05-16 at 9.00.22 AM.png

Welcome, jaydangelo! I can see why you're confused! The chart you shared shows one of two alleles (or SNPs) that are commonly used to determine ApoE 4 status: rs429358 is listed as CT, which in this explanation of Snpedia would be PART of a profile of someone with ApoE 3/4, but might also be only ApoE 3/3. You need the data for rs7412 also. Here's the link that shows various combinations: https://www.snpedia.com/index.php/APOE.

If you have a recent 23&me report that included Health data, it should have also included Health reports that would have covered your ApoE 4 status, if any. If you got the Ancestry report, it should still be possible to use the search function (the magnifying glass on 23& me) and type "Browse raw data", then when a screen comes up with a graphic of chromosomes, enter rs412 into the text box and see what it shows. Compare those results to the chart at the bottom of the snpedia link.

Your G/G results on rs440446 that are marked in red do not appear to represent having ApoE 4, or to be associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. Rather, than SNP is one of many 'promoter" polymorphisms, alleles that are located near the region of the ApoE 4 alleles and that have been studied somewhat to see if they protect against Alzheimer's disease in people with ApoE 4, confer an added risk in ApoE 4 carriers, have no additional risk or protection but 'travel together" with ApoE 4, or influence a completely different process in the body, tied perhaps more to lipid metabolism and risk of other conditions. In one study I found, rs440446, Apoe 4 was "underrepresented in carriers of allele C, genotypes GC, CC", meaning that people with one (or presumably two copies of "G" were less likely to have ApoE 4. In that study they were also less likely to have Alzheimer's disease.
https://alzres.biomedcentral.com/articl ... 016-0187-9.

While it can be exciting to get a report on your individual alleles, it's important to remember that many of the studies are very recent, and sometimes limited in sample size. You may want to try downloading your 23&me data into Promethease https://promethease.com which charges a small fee. I have used that site and found their reports clear and easy to understand, and searchable by topic and degree of significance.

As for having concerns at the age of 44, ApoE 4 is associated only with late-onset sporadic mild cognitive impairment and dementia after age 65. You may want to check our Primer, written by a physician who is ApoE 4/4 herself. It has great strategies for anyone in midlife who wants to improve their brain and overall health--starting with lots of reasonable suggestions that probably explain some of your symptoms.

Feel free to let us know what you find out. We're always glad to help people navigate the knowledge of ApoE 4 to feel more in control and more confident about their future.

[jaydangelo]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a detailed reply. I really appreciate it! I'm still struggling with understanding the basics.. like how could you determine I'm 3/3 or 3/4? I couldn't work that out from the results so wondering if there is a "APOE for dummies/beginners" you could recommend to help me understand? I cant work it out from snpedia.

My 23andme results show rs7412 not determined. What would be the best way to test for this gene? Any recommendations? I'm hesitant to do the promethease, because this is worrying enough and I don't think that I really want to know all the other health risks.. really just want to know about the Alzheimers risk. Also concerned about the genes associated with early onset AD, but then I'm assuming that is not covered on this site. Thanks again for the response and looking forward to any more answers you can provide.

[sndperkins]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a detailed reply. I really appreciate it! I'm still struggling with understanding the basics.. like how could you determine I'm 3/3 or 3/4? I couldn't work that out from the results so wondering if there is a "APOE for dummies/beginners" you could recommend to help me understand? I cant work it out from snpedia.

My 23andme results show rs7412 not determined. What would be the best way to test for this gene? Any recommendations? I'm hesitant to do the promethease, because this is worrying enough and I don't think that I really want to know all the other health risks.. really just want to know about the Alzheimers risk. Also concerned about the genes associated with early onset AD, but then I'm assuming that is not covered on this site. Thanks again for the response and looking forward to any more answers you can provide.

Hi, there! I used Ancestry and they have my my rs7412 results, but not the other. My dad used Ancestry, also, and got the other allele result and not rs7412. HOWEVER, putting his and mine together I was able to determine I was e3/e3, but that was not the case. My sister was tested as e3/e4 and then I knew Ancestry was wrong. My dad (who has dementia) and I are both e3/e4. I took a test through Alzheimersorganization.org which only tested the APOE gene. I know it's more money, but you could look into this singular test.