Association Between Plasma Amyloid-β and Neuropsychological Performance in Patients With Cognitive Decline

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the association between plasma amyloid-β (Aβ) levels and neuropsychological performance in patients with cognitive decline using a highly sensitive nano-biosensing platform.Methods: We prospectively recruited 44 patients with cognitive decline who underwent plasma Aβ analysis, amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) scanning, and detailed neuropsychological tests. Patients were classified into a normal control (NC, n = 25) or Alzheimer’s disease (AD, n = 19) group based on amyloid PET positivity. Multiple linear regression was performed to determine whether plasma Aβ (Aβ40, Aβ42, and Aβ42/40) levels were associated with neuropsychological test results.Results: The plasma levels of Aβ42/40 were significantly different between the NC and AD groups and were the best predictor of amyloid PET positivity by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis [area under the curve of 0.952 (95% confidence interval, 0.892–1.000)]. Although there were significant differences in the neuropsychological performance of cognitive domains (language, visuospatial, verbal/visual memory, and frontal/executive functions) between the NC and AD groups, higher levels of plasma Aβ42/40 were negatively correlated only with verbal and visual memory performance.Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that plasma Aβ analysis using a nano-biosensing platform could be a useful tool for diagnosing AD and assessing memory performance in patients with cognitive decline.

Blood-Based Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis and Progression: An Overview

“…Several studies indicate the potential for the plasma levels of different amyloid-β (Aβ) variants to function as AD biomarkers, due to their accuracy and predictivity [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. This is not surprising considering that CSF Aβ peptides represent one of the core biomarkers in AD diagnosis, and that, at the same time, there is an urgent need to identify more accessible ones [ 37 , 38 ].…”

Plasma amyloid-β homeostasis is associated with Body Mass Index and weight loss in people with overweight and obesity

“…The significant association between obese-BMI and plasma Aβ42/40 ratio were persistently observed after adjusting the data to age, age-squared and sex, whilst Aβ40 and Aβ42 did not show any independent significant differences between lean, overweight and obese groups. The low plasma Aβ42/40 ratio observed amongst the obese BMI group coincides with a greater risk of AD, as lower plasma Aβ42/40 ratio is consistently associated with high cerebral amyloid burden, greater cognitive deterioration and increased risk of developing AD [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][20][21][22][23]. Therefore, our data collectively suggest that obesity and higher BMI may implicate a higher risk of AD through disturbances in plasma Aβ homeostasis.…”

“…Many studies have evaluated plasma levels of Aβ40 and Aβ42 as predictors of AD or cognitive decline [7]. Recent findings show that the dyshomeostasis of plasma Aβ, particularly low plasma Aβ42/40 ratio can predict the risk of AD at an accuracy of ~90% [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. However, few studies to date have investigated the association between obesity and plasma Aβ homeostasis.…”

Investigation of coenzyme Q10 status, serum amyloid-β, and tau protein in patients with dementia

“…Amyloid β is proposed to induce hyperphosphorylation of tau protein during the pathological severity of dementia ( Mocanu et al, 2008 ; Fan et al, 2020 ). Studies in the elderly population have found that amyloid β is related to neuropathological performance ( Yun et al, 2021 ; Zecca et al, 2021 ). The neuroprotective effects of coenzyme Q10 have also been demonstrated in cells and animal models ( Elipenahli et al, 2012 ; Komaki et al, 2019 ; Ekicier Acar et al, 2020 ; Ibrahim Fouad, 2020 ).…”

“…Administration of coenzyme Q10 could attenuate amyloid β accumulation and mitigate Alzheimer’s-like behavioral and pathological symptoms ( Yang et al, 2008 ; Muthukumaran et al, 2018 ; Ibrahim Fouad, 2020 ). Recent published data showed that lower levels of amyloid β-42 and amyloid β-42/40 ratio was found in dementia patients ( Hanon et al, 2022 ; Thijssen et al, 2022 ), but other researchers found that patients with dementia had higher levels of amyloid β-42, and the level of plasma amyloid β-42/40 ratio was correlated with amyloid positivity in the bilateral frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital cortices ( Manafikhi et al, 2021 ; Yun et al, 2021 ). The levels of amyloid β-42 and β-40 in dementia patients appear to remain uncertain.…”