Cerebrospinal fluid levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha and aquaporin 1 in patients with mild cognitive impairment and idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus

•The study makes an analysis of the CSF levels of TNFα and AQP1 in cont., MCI and iNPH.•In iNPH the CSF content of proteins was lower than control.•The relative levels of TNFα were significantly higher as compared to controls.•In iNPH the CSF levels of TNFα were significantly higher than those in mild cognitive impairment.•This information may help the diagnosis between MCI on one side and iNPH and AD on the other.

ObjectiveThe aim of the present work was to make a comparative analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid levels of Tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) and aquaporin 1 (AQP1) in (i) healthy elder control, (ii) patients with mild cognitive impairment and, (iii) patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus.Patients and methodsSamples of CSF were taken from seven patients with MCI, 77 years average age; six patients with iNPH, 75 years average age; eleven healthy subjects, 60 year average age, were used as controls. The cerebrospinal fluid levels of AQP1 and TNFα were studied by enzyme immunoassay (ELISA).ResultsIn mild cognitive impairment the total protein content of the CSF and the relative CSF levels of AQP1 and TNFα were similar to those of control subjects and different from those of iNPH patients. On the other hand, in iNPH patients the CSF content of proteins was low and the levels of TNFα were significantly high while those of AQP1 were insignificantly high.ConclusionThese finding may help the differential diagnosis and prognosis of mild cognitive impairment and normal pressure hydrocephalus patients.