Evaluation Of Apoe Epsilon 2/Epsilon 3/Epsilon 4 Alleles In A Cohort Of Individuals Affected By Developmental Topographical Disorientation

The three common alleles of the APOE gene, epsilon 2/epsilon 3/epsilon 4, have been linked to human spatial orientation. We investigated the genetic role of APOE in developmental topographical disorientation (DTD), a lifelong condition that results in topographical disorientation. We genotyped the APOE epsilon 2/epsilon 3/epsilon 4 alleles in a cohort of 20 unrelated DTD probands, and found allele frequencies not statistically different from the those seen in the population as a whole. Therefore, we found no evidence that DTD occurs preferentially on a genetic background containing any particular APOE allele, making it unlikely that these APOE alleles are contributing to the development of DTD.