Background: Although the etiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) has not yet been clearly elucidated, MS is a chronic inflammatory disease, in which genetic and environmental factors are involved. The association between apolipoprotein E (APOE) genetic polymorphisms and various neurodegenerative diseases, including MS, is controversial. In the current study, specific APOE genotypes were investigated in patients with MS. Methods: Fifty patients clinically diagnosed with MS and 30 healthy volunteers were included in the study. The APOE genotype was identified via the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. The patient and control groups were compared in terms of the frequency of APOE genotypes. Results: The APOE genotype distribution in the patient group was as follows: ?3/?3, 82.0%; ?3/?4, 12.0%; and ?2/?3, 6.0%. There were no significant differences between the patient and control groups with respect to the frequency of APOE genotypes, and APOE ?4 allele carriage (p=0.56). However, the frequency of APOE ?4 allele carriers were significantly higher among male patients (p=0.007). Conclusion: These findings suggest that the APOE genotype has no effect on susceptibility to MS. Further studies with larger sample sizes to be able to include all APOE genotypes are warranted. Identification of genetic factors that may have a role in the etiology of MS will make a substantial contribution to the knowledge of the prevention and treatment of MS.

Amaç: Multipl skleroz (MS) henüz nedeni çok iyi aydinlatilamamis olmakla birlikte genetik ve çevresel faktörlerin etkisiyle ortaya çikan kronik inflamatuar bir hastaliktir. MS dahil çesitli nörodejeneratif hastaliklar ile apolipoprotein E (APOE) genetik polimorfizmi arasindaki iliski tartismalidir. Bu çalismada MS’li hastalarda belirli APOE genotipleri arastirildi. Yöntem: Klinik olarak MS tanisi almis 50 hasta ve saglikli 30 kisi çalismaya alindi. APOE genotipi PCR yöntemiyle belirlendi. APOE genotiplerinin hasta ve kontrol grubunda görülme sikliklari karsilastirildi. Bulgular: APOE genotip dagilimi MS grubunda sirayla ?3/?3 %82,0, ?3/?4 %12,0, ?2/?3 %6,0 idi. MS ve kontrol grubu arasinda genotiplerin görülme oranlarinda belirgin farkliliklar yoktu ve ?4 tasiyiciligi açisindan anlamli fark saptanmadi (p=0,56). Ancak MS hastalarinda erkek cinsiyette ?4 tasiyiciligi anlamli olarak yüksek bulundu (p=0,007). Sonuç: Sonuçlarimiz APOE genotipinin MS’a yatkinlik üzerinde etkisinin olmadigini düsündürmüstür. Daha fazla olgu ile tüm genotipleri kapsayacak sekilde genis kapsamli çalismalara gerek vardir. Etiyolojide rolü olabilecek genetik faktörlerin aydinlatilmasi MS hastaliginin önlenmesi ve tedavi edilmesinde yararli bilgiler saglayacaktir