Dementia is a syndrome characterized by a memory, crisis, speech and behavior disorder that affects a person's ability to perform independently his daily activities.

The clinical application of pharmacogenetic analyzes is the first step towards personalized medicine.

Pharmacogenetic analyzes contribute to personalizing the choice of drugs to be used in the treatment and in addition to identifying differentiations in the apolipoprotein E gene resulting in an increased likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease at an early age.

Apolipoprotein E is produced in the liver. It plays an important role in the metabolism of lipoproteins as it is involved in the purification of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and cholesterol.

There are three different forms (alleles) of the apolipoprotein E gene, e2, e3, and e4 coding for the three major isoforms from E, E2, E3 and E4, respectively.

Of these, the e4 allele is the most important factor in the increased incidence of Alzheimer's disease in early age.

Persons carrying the e4 allele of this gene have a 3-8 times increased likelihood of disease in relation to the rest of the population. At the same time, the e4 allele has an aggravating role in dyslipidemias and cardiovascular diseases, increasing the morbidity and mortality rates.

In addition, the identification of enzyme polymorphisms CYP2D6, CYP1A2 and CYP3A4/5 who are involved in the metabolism of anti-anabolic drugs in patients who are about to start or are already treated with anti-antacid drugs and experience adverse reactions or non-response to treatment provide important information for prescribing the appropriate for the patient medication.

The tests are done with a DNA sample (blood or saliva).