Human leucocyte antigen-A2 increases risk of Alzheimer's disease but does not affect age of onset in a Scottish population

The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs has been associated with a reduced incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD), suggesting that attenuation of the inflammatory response may be beneficial. Several, but not all, genetic association studies have shown human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-A2, a major histocompatibility complex class I antigen-binding transmembrane protein has an increased frequency in AD compared to controls, and in some reports is associated with a lowered age of onset. We further investigated the role of HLA-A2 in an independent sample of AD cases, including a large early onset cohort. The results of this current study and meta analysis of all studies available to date support previous evidence of an excess of HLA-A2 in AD, but found no evidence of a relationship with age of onset.