Results of a new study suggest that Alzheimer's patients who carry the APOE-4 gene are more likely to suffer from delusions as well.

The study, appearing in Neurology, included 87 patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, who had no history of psychiatric symptoms.

Participants were followed for up to 9.3 years for development of delusions, illusions, hallucinations, behavioral symptoms and depression.

Researchers found that patients with one APOE-4 gene were two-and-a-half times more likely to develop delusions than those who didn't carry the gene. And the risk of developing delusions for patients who carried two or more APOE-4 genes was almost six times as great.

The associations remained significant even after being adjusted for age, ethnicity, sex, education, duration of disease, and cognitive and functional performance.

The presence of two APOE-4 genes was linked with a reduced risk for developing hallucinations -- but only in the adjusted analysis.

No links were found between APOE genotype and incidence of illusions, behavioral symptoms or depression.

"The presence of one or more APOE-4) alleles is a significant predictor for the incidence of delusions in the course of (Alzheimer's disease)," the researchers concluded.

Other Sources: Neurology