Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers and cognitive performance in non-demented patients with Parkinson’s disease

We tested the hypothesis that levels of CSF biomarkers associated with dementia and cognitive impairment are correlated with cognitive performance in non-demented Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. Twenty-two non-demented patients with PD underwent neuropsychological testing and lumbar puncture to collect CSF. We correlated performance scores on the Logical Memory (delayed), Category Fluency, Digit Symbol, and Trails B minus A with CSF concentrations of amyloid (A) β42, total tau (t-tau), Aβ42/t-tau, and Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). We observed significant associations between performance on the Digit Symbol test and CSF levels of Aβ42, Aβ42/t-tau, and BDNF, and between performance on the Category Fluency (vegetable) and Aβ42/t-tau. While several of these associations were attenuated by adjusting for age, our results suggest that it may be possible to use CSF biomarkers to characterize pathophysiologic processes underlying even mild cognitive deficits in non-demented PD patients.