Discriminatory Analysis of Biochip-Derived Protein Patterns in CSF and Plasma in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Abstract

The role of biomarkers in neurodegenerative diseases has been emphasized by recent research. Future clinical demands for identifying diseases at an early stage may render them essential. The aim of this pilot study was to test the analytical performance of two multiplex assays of cerebral markers on a well-defined clinical material consisting of patients with various neurodegenerative diseases. We measured 10 analytes in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 60 patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, or mild cognitive impairment, as well as 20 cognitively healthy controls. We used the Randox biochip-based Evidence Investigator™ system to measure the analytes. We found it possible to measure most analytes in both plasma and CSF, and there were some interesting differences between the diagnostic groups, although with large overlaps. CSF heart-type fatty acid-binding protein was increased in AD. Glial fibrillary acidic protein and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin in CSF and D-dimer in plasma were elevated in patients with cerebrovascular disease. A multivariate statistical analysis revealed that the pattern of analytes could help to differentiate the conditions, although more studies are required to verify this.

A meta-analysis of the effects of aging on motor cortex neurophysiology assessed by transcranial magnetic stimulation

“…This finding is congruent with previous TMS reports of an age-related decline in LTP-like plasticity (Muller-Dahlhaus et al , 2008, Tecchio et al , 2008, Fathi et al , 2010, Todd et al , 2010, Freitas et al , 2011). Indirect evidence for reduced plasticity with age has also been brought to light using related neurophysiological measures investigating use-dependent plasticity (Sawaki et al , 2003) and motor cortical excitability changes (Rogasch et al , 2009).…”

CSF in Alzheimer's Disease

“…Additional candidate inflammatory biomarkers that have been examined in relation to AD since then include the cytokine osteopontin, which is elevated in CSF from AD patients [155], and the TNF-a-induced proinflammatory agent lipocalin 2 which has been found at lower concentrations in CSF from MCI and AD patients compared with controls [156]. Another study found that CSF lipocalin 2, also known as neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, occurred at lower levels in AD and stable MCI patients compared with patients who had AD and vascular risk factors [157].…”

Multimodal MRI markers support a model of small vessel ischemia for depressive symptoms in very old adults

“…Global and regional markers of gray and white matter integrity were obtained using previously published methods (Venkatraman et al, 2011), briefly described below. Global brain tissue volumes (gray matter [GM], white matter [WM], and cerebrospinal fluid [CSF]) were estimated in cubic millimeters by segmenting the skull-stripped T1-weighted image using FAST – FMRIB’s Automated Segmentation Tool (Zhang et al, 2001).…”