The relation between apolipoprotein (A PO E) gene polymorphisms and disease progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) is controversial. The present study was designed to investigate the relation between A PO E gene polymorphisms and Japanese patients with MS. We analysed the frequencies of A PO E gene polymorphisms in 135 MS patients and 134 healthy controls, using PC R-RFLP. The results showed no significant differences in the distribution of A PO E gene polymorphisms between MS patients and controls. With regard to disease progression, there was no association between A PO E gene polymorphisms and ε4 allele positivity and disease progression index (EDSS/years). Furthermore, in patients with more than 10 years of disease onset, there were no significant differences between the frequencies of ε4 allele and patients with EDSS of more than 6. A lthough the low rate of ε4 allele in Japan should be taken into consideration, our results showed no relation between APO E gene polymorphisms and Japanese patients with MS.
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