Cerebrospinal fluid tau, Aβ 1–42 and inflammatory cytokines in patients with Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia

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In this study we aimed to evaluate the possibility of using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tau, Aβ 1–42 and inflammatory cytokines for diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VD). We measured levels of total tau (T-tau), phospho-tau (P-tau), Aβ 1–42, IL-6, and TNFα in CSF in groups of AD, VD, and controls using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). T-tau level was found significantly higher in groups of AD ( t = 3.015, P < 0.01) and VD ( t = 2.872, P < 0.01) than in controls. IL-6 level as also higher in AD ( t = 2.883, P < 0.01) and VD ( t = 3.032, P < 0.01) than in controls. Both T-tau and IL-6 were not significantly different between AD and VD ( P > 0.05). The group of AD had remarkably higher P-tau ( t = 4.261 and 3.883, respectively, P < 0.01) and lower Aβ 1–42 ( t = 3.883 and 4.129, respectively, P < 0.01), as compared with those in VD and controls. TNFα level in AD was significantly higher than that in controls ( t = 2.745, P < 0.01), but lower than in VD ( t = 3.032, P < 0.01). Our data suggested that increment of T-tau and IL-6 levels in CSF was useful for screening AD and VD in certain population, while descending Aβ 1–42 and ascending TNFα in CSF are preferable to diagnose AD. In addition, a higher level of CSF P-tau might support AD diagnosis.