gms | German Medical Science

Objective: To study the presence of a genetic predisposition to cognitive disorders based on the study of polymorphism of apolipoprotein E in patients with repeated mild traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Material/Methods: We examined 86 amateur boxers high skill level from age 18 to 32 years, playing a boxing classes ranging between 5 to 14 years. During a sports career boxers underwent TBI in the form knockdown and knockouts in number from 1 to 10. The control group included 30 people aged 18 to 25 years who had not a history transferred TBI, associated diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular systems. Was conducted neuropsychological research and genetic testing to determine the ApoE genotype and ApoE alleles.

Results: These neuropsychological tests shows a reduction of cognitive functions (mild cognitive impairment) in boxers with repeated mild TBI. The lowest test scores observed in patients with ε4 allele, and this difference is statistically reliable. In the control group rates of cognitive functions is slightly different from the norm. For frequency in both groups dominated allele ε3, a group of boxers often met alleles ε2 and ε4 compared with control group. In both groups dominated genotype ε3ε3, among a group of boxers often compared with the control group met genotypes ε2ε3 and ε3ε4. If the control group had never met the patients with genotype ε4ε4, then the group of boxers with repeated mild TBI had been four such cases, and found the boxer with the genotype ε4ε4 in which it was lowest neuropsychological tests.

Conclusion: Proved communication ApoE, including alleles ε4, with the development of cognitive disorders in boxers after deferred mild TBI. Genetic testing (determination ApoEε4) allows to predict the possibility of developing complications from the side of the nervous system after transferred TBI.