tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Arq Neuropsiquiatr
. 2024 Sep;82(9):1-7.
doi: 10.1055/s-0044-1788272. Epub 2024 Jul 18. Long-COVID olfactory dysfunction: allele E4 of apolipoprotein E as a possible protective factor
Danilo Nunes Oliveira[SUP] 1 [/SUP], José Wagner Leonel Tavares-Júnior[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Werbety Lucas Queiroz Feitosa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Letícia Chaves Vieira Cunha[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Carmem Meyve Pereira Gomes[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Caroline Aquino Moreira-Nunes[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jean Breno Silveira da Silva[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Artur Victor Menezes Sousa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Safira de Brito Gaspar[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Emmanuelle Silva Tavares Sobreira[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Laís Lacerda Brasil de Oliveira[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Raquel Carvalho Montenegro[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Maria Elisabete Amaral de Moraes[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Manoel Alves Sobreira-Neto[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Pedro Braga-Neto[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
in English, Portuguese
Background: Olfactory dysfunction (OD) represents a frequent manifestation of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is a protein that interacts with the angiotensin-converting enzyme receptor, essential for viral entry into the cell. Previous publications have suggested a possible role of APOE in COVID-19 severity. As far as we know, no publications found significant associations between this disease's severity, OD, and APOE polymorphisms (E2, E3, and E4).
Objective: To analyze the epidemiology of OD and its relationship with APOE polymorphisms in a cohort of Long-COVID patients.
Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study with patients followed in a post-COVID neurological outpatient clinic, with OD being defined as a subjective reduction of olfactory function after infection, and persistent OD being defined when the complaint lasted more than 3 months after the COVID-19 infection resolution. This cross-sectional study is part of a large research with previously reported data focusing on the cognitive performance of our sample.
Results: The final sample comprised 221 patients, among whom 186 collected blood samples for APOE genotyping. The persistent OD group was younger and had a lower hospitalization rate during the acute phase of the disease (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the APOE variant E4 allele frequency was lower in this group (p = 0.035). This study evaluated OD in an outpatient population with COVID-19. In the current literature on this disease, anosmia is associated with better clinical outcomes and the E4 allele is associated with worse outcomes.
Conclusion: Our study provides new information to these correlations, suggesting APOE E4 as a protective factor for OD.
. 2024 Sep;82(9):1-7.
doi: 10.1055/s-0044-1788272. Epub 2024 Jul 18. Long-COVID olfactory dysfunction: allele E4 of apolipoprotein E as a possible protective factor
Danilo Nunes Oliveira[SUP] 1 [/SUP], José Wagner Leonel Tavares-Júnior[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Werbety Lucas Queiroz Feitosa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Letícia Chaves Vieira Cunha[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Carmem Meyve Pereira Gomes[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Caroline Aquino Moreira-Nunes[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jean Breno Silveira da Silva[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Artur Victor Menezes Sousa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Safira de Brito Gaspar[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Emmanuelle Silva Tavares Sobreira[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Laís Lacerda Brasil de Oliveira[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Raquel Carvalho Montenegro[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Maria Elisabete Amaral de Moraes[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Manoel Alves Sobreira-Neto[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Pedro Braga-Neto[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 39025107
- DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1788272
in English, Portuguese
Background: Olfactory dysfunction (OD) represents a frequent manifestation of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is a protein that interacts with the angiotensin-converting enzyme receptor, essential for viral entry into the cell. Previous publications have suggested a possible role of APOE in COVID-19 severity. As far as we know, no publications found significant associations between this disease's severity, OD, and APOE polymorphisms (E2, E3, and E4).
Objective: To analyze the epidemiology of OD and its relationship with APOE polymorphisms in a cohort of Long-COVID patients.
Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study with patients followed in a post-COVID neurological outpatient clinic, with OD being defined as a subjective reduction of olfactory function after infection, and persistent OD being defined when the complaint lasted more than 3 months after the COVID-19 infection resolution. This cross-sectional study is part of a large research with previously reported data focusing on the cognitive performance of our sample.
Results: The final sample comprised 221 patients, among whom 186 collected blood samples for APOE genotyping. The persistent OD group was younger and had a lower hospitalization rate during the acute phase of the disease (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the APOE variant E4 allele frequency was lower in this group (p = 0.035). This study evaluated OD in an outpatient population with COVID-19. In the current literature on this disease, anosmia is associated with better clinical outcomes and the E4 allele is associated with worse outcomes.
Conclusion: Our study provides new information to these correlations, suggesting APOE E4 as a protective factor for OD.