Abstract
Specific polymorphisms within the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene promoter
region are of particular interest: VEGF variability has been associated with increased
risk of developing a wide variety of disorders from diabetes to neurodegenerative
diseases, suggesting functions not confined to its originally described vascular effects.
A hypothetical loss of the VEGF-mediated neuroprotective effect has been proposed
as a cause of neurodegenerative disorders. An impaired regulation of VEGF expression
has been also reported in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis.
Recently, VEGF gene promoter polymorphisms have been associated with an increased
risk for AD in the Italian population. Conversely, two subsequent studies failed to
find a positive association between VEGF variability and greater risk for AD. To better
clarify this issue, a meta-analysis of all published association studies has been
performed. Overall, polymorphic variants within VEGF gene promoter confer greater
risk for AD at least in the Italian population; the meta-analysis provides evidence
of a role of the functional variant C(−2578)A in the pathogenesis of the disease,
although the pooled odds ratio obtained represents a modest effect. These findings
provide new evidence for an additional candidate genetic risk factor for AD that can
be tested in further studies.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 09, 2009
Identification
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© 2009 Elsevier B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
