Background and Objectives:
APOE has an important role in lipids metabolism, and in the variability in low density lipoprotein (LDL) response to statins treatment between individuals. In this study we aim to investigate the association
between APOE polymorphism and response to statins in Jordanian hyperlipidemic patients at the diabetic clinic of Jordan
University Hospital.
Methods:
One hundred and fifty two Jordanian Hyperlipidemic patients (52 males and 100 females) aged between 35-75
years were enrolled in this study. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Jordan University
Hospital. The genotypes of the patients were identified by polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length
polymorphism assay method (PCR-RFLP).
Results and Conclusions:
The study showed that there is an association between APOE polymorphism and response to
statin therapy. Patients who were APOE ԑ4 carriers had lower response to statins compared to ԑ3 and ԑ2 carriers (p=0.002).
In addition we found that there were no significant association between APOE polymorphism and LDL baseline (p=0.214).
No significant differences in APOE genotypes distribution between males and females (p=0.06).No significant association
was found between age and APOE genotypes (p=0.347). A genotype screening test for dyslipidemic Jordanian patients is
recommended to choose the appropriate treatment decisions, dosage, and to recognize the potential side effects of the statin
therapy.