Associações entre polimorfismos do gene APOE, sintomas neurológicos e avaliações cognitivas em pacientes com COVID longa

Abstract

COVID-19 has had a significant global impact, with its rapid spread marking the onset of the pandemic in 2020. After initial recovery, many patients continued to report persistent symptoms, including cognitive alterations such as memory loss and sleep disturbances, a condition termed long COVID. Recent studies have hypothesized that genetic factors may play a crucial role in the severity and persistence of long COVID symptoms, particularly concerning neurological and cognitive symptoms. Among these factors, the APOE gene stands out, widely recognized for its relevance in neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer's disease. This study investigated the relationship between APOE polymorphisms, specifically SNPs rs7412 and rs429358, and neurological and cognitive symptoms in long COVID patients. Neurological and cognitive tests were applied, including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Pfeffer Functional Activities Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. The results showed that the ε2 and ε3 alleles have distinct influences on the various symptoms reported by patients. The ε2 allele demonstrated a protective effect regarding depressive symptoms, while the ε3 allele was associated with higher scores on the Beck test. Furthermore, the positive influence of the ε3 allele was observed in homozygous carriers of this allele with respect to anosmia. The findings of this study reinforce the influence of the APOE gene, particularly the rs7412 polymorphism, on neurological and emotional symptoms and on the evaluation of daytime sleepiness in long COVID.