Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
329500 | Neurobiology of Aging | 2008 | 8 Pages |
BackgroundLittle is known about longitudinal changes of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers during cognitive decline in neurodegenerative disease progression.ObjectiveTo investigate longitudinal changes in CSF biomarkers – total-tau (T-tau), phospho-tau (P-tau) and β-amyloid (Aβ42) – during cognitive decline.MethodsForty memory clinic patients (47.5% females), aged 61.3 ± 7.6 (S.D.) years, non-demented at baseline, underwent lumbar puncture and neuropsychological testing at two occasions. Baseline mean MMSE-score was 28.3 ± 1.8. Patients were divided into three groups based on baseline memory functioning; severely impaired (SIM), moderately impaired (MIM) and no impairment (NIM).ResultsThere was a significant increase in P-tau in the SIM-group during follow-up, while P-tau in MIM and NIM did not change. Eighty-three percent of the SIM-patients converted to dementia (80% AD), while most MIM- and NIM-patients remained non-demented. T-tau- and Aβ42-levels did not change in any of the memory groups during follow-up.ConclusionIncreasing P-tau levels during cognitive decline and conversion to dementia suggest that P-tau may be useful as a longitudinal marker of the neurodegenerative process.