White Blood Cell and Platelet Counts Are Not Suitable as Biomarkers in the Differential Diagnostics of Dementia

Abstract

Apart from Alzheimer’s disease (AD), no biomarkers for the differential diagnosis of dementia have been established to date. Inflammatory processes contribute to the pathogenesis of dementia subtypes, e.g., AD or frontotemporal dementia (FTD). In the context of cancer or cardiovascular diseases, white blood cell (WBC) populations and platelet counts, as well as C-reactive protein (CRP), have emerged as biomarkers. Their clinical relevance in dementia, however, is currently only insufficiently investigated. In the present study, hematological and inflammatory parameters were measured in the peripheral blood of 97 patients admitted to the gerontopsychiatric ward of Hannover Medical School, a university hospital in Germany, for dementia assessment. The study population comprised 20 non-demented, depressed patients (control group) and 77 demented patients who were assigned to five different groups based on their underlying dementia etiology: AD, n = 33; vascular dementia, n = 12; mixed dementia, n = 21; FTD, n = 5; and Korsakoff syndrome, n = 6. We observed neither statistically significant differences regarding total WBC populations, platelet counts, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, nor CRP levels between the control group and the five dementia groups. CRP levels tended to be higher in patients with Korsakoff syndrome than in the control group and in AD patients. Thus, CRP could possibly play a role in the differential diagnosis of dementia. This should be investigated further in future prospective studies with larger sample sizes. WBC and platelet counts, by contrast, do not appear to be suitable biomarkers in the differential diagnosis of dementia.

Causal relationship between psoriasis vulgaris and dementia: Insights from Mendelian randomization analysis

“…A clinical study has indicated that MPV and PDW were abnormally decreased in VaD patients 43 . However, another study has reported insignificant variance in PLT between VaD patients and non‐dementia patients, indicating that PLT may not be a suitable biomarker for diagnosing VaD 44 . Accordingly, we conducted a MVMR study to explore whether MPV, PDW and PLT are confounding factors affecting the causal relationship between psoriasis vulgaris and VaD.…”

“…43 However, another study has reported insignificant variance in PLT between VaD patients and non-dementia patients, indicating that PLT may not be a suitable biomarker for diagnosing VaD. 44 Accordingly, we conducted a MVMR study to explore whether MPV, PDW and PLT are confounding factors affecting the causal relationship between psoriasis vulgaris and VaD. Following the LASSO feature selection, no significant collinearity was found in the MVMR analysis.…”

The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio associates with markers of Alzheimer’s disease pathology in cognitively unimpaired elderly people

“…However, an elevated NLR has also been implicated in various other diseases and conditions, including those that are risk factors for AD, such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity, raising questions as to whether the association with AD is simply a manifestation of underlying comorbidities (27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40). Further, the shortcoming of the NLR as a tool for the differential diagnosis with other dementias, due to its lack of speci city, has recently been highlighted (51). Therefore, the need for an investigation into the NLR in speci c relation to Aβ and tau biomarkers, while accounting for comorbidities, has become apparent, particularly within the A/T/N framework.…”

Platelet Dynamics in Neurodegenerative Disorders: Investigating the Role of Platelets in Neurological Pathology

“…Although the PLT counts did not show statistically significant differences between dementia subtypes, this study recognised the evolving landscape of dementia diagnostics. Conducted using the Sysmex XN-10 Automated Haematology Analyzer, the research contributed to ongoing investigations of biomarkers in dementia diagnostics, highlighting the intricate nature of these conditions [118].…”

“…Despite the rigorous methodology, the findings conclusively demonstrate that WBC counts, platelet counts, and related metrics do not exhibit significant differences across diverse dementia types. This underscores the urgent need for more reliable and specific biomarkers, both for accurate diagnostic differentiation and targeted treatment strategies [118].…”