APOE Genotype Affects Cognitive Training Response in Healthy Shanghai Community-Dwelling Elderly Individuals

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Feng, Wei^{a; 1} | Yokoyama, Jennifer S.^{b; 1; *} | Yu, Shunying^c | Chen, You^d | Cheng, Yan^a | Bonham, Luke W.^b | Wang, Dongxiang^c | Shen, Yuan^e | Wu, Wenyuan^a | Li, Chunbo^{c; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Psychiatry, Tongji Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China | [b] Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA | [c] Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, P.R. China | [d] Shanghai Yangpu District Mental Health Center, Shanghai, P.R. China | [e] Department of Psychiatry, Tenth People’s Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Jennifer S. Yokoyama, PhD, UCSF Memory and Aging Center, 675 Nelson Rising Ln, Suite 190, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA. Tel.: +1 415 476 5565; Fax: +1 415 476 1816; E-mail: Jennifer.Yokoyama@ucsf.edu

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Chunbo Li, MD, PhD, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 600 Wan Ping Nan Road, Shanghai 200030, P.R. China. Tel.: +86 21 3477 3243; Fax: +86 21 6438 7986; chunbo_li@163.com

Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract: Background: Cognitive training may contribute to the ability to maintain cognitive function in healthy elderly adults. Whether genotype modifies training effects remains unknown. Objective: Assess influence of APOE on cognitive function over time in community-dwelling elderly adults participating in multi-domain cognitive training. Methods: Healthy individuals ≥70 years of age were screened from one urban community in Shanghai. 145 healthy Chinese older adults met inclusion criteria and were assigned to intervention (n = 88) or control (n = 57) groups. Multi-domain cognitive training involved 24 sessions of different content taking place over 12 weeks. Neuropsychological testing was administered at baseline, immediately after training, six months and twelve months post-intervention; composite measures of cognitive function were identified via factor analysis. Results: Three factors explained the majority of variance in function (verbal memory, processing speed, executive function). The intervention attenuated 12-month declines in processing speed, regardless of APOE genotype (p = 0.047). Executive function declined in APOE ɛ4 carriers over 12 months, regardless of intervention (p = 0.056). There was a significant interaction after 12 months where intervention ɛ4 carriers had better processing speed than ɛ4 controls (p = 0.003). Intervention ɛ2 carriers had better executive function immediately after training (p = 0.02) and had better verbal memory 6-months post-intervention (p = 0.04). These effects remained significant after false-discovery rate correction. Conclusion: Multi-domain cognitive training reduces declines in processing speed over time. APOE ɛ4 is associated with reductions in executive function over time, and training may attenuate ɛ4-associated declines in processing speed. APOE ɛ2 carriers may also benefit from training, particularly on measures of executive function and verbal memory.

Keywords: Apolipoprotein E, cognitive training, elderly, neuropsychology

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-150039

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 1035-1046, 2015