Various studies, dating back as far as 25 years ago, have shown that allelic variation at the APOE locus impacts survival, and alters risk of hyperlipidaemia, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, and in particular dementia.[5–7] Initial attention was largely focused on the APOE-ε4 allele, which is associated with an adverse impact on these risk factors and outcomes, including shortened survival compared with the more common ε3 allele. The gene discussed is APOE; the disease is hyperlipidemia.