Levels of ADAM10 and BDNF in low‐educated healthy older adults and individuals with Alzheimer’s dementia

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundAlzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia among older adults (Prince et al., 2015). Research has focused on specific biomarkers for AD that could contribute to early diagnosis. Levels of ADAM10, for example, are altered in people with AD, and this protein has been studied as a potential blood‐based biomarker for this disease (Elsworthy et al., 2022). Brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), in turn, is a protective factor involved, for example, in neurotransmitter modulation, as well as in neuronal plasticity and survival (Tarassova et al., 2020). Therefore, analyzing the possible relationship between these variables is relevant to expand the knowledge of AD biomarkers.Aimto verify whether there is a relationship between the levels of ADAM10 and BDNF among healthy older adults and individuals with AD with low educational attainment.MethodsThis is a cross‐sectional study in which community‐dwelling older adults with low educational levels (n = 85) were assigned to two groups: healthy older adults (n = 37) and participants with AD (n = 48). The interview was based on a sociodemographic questionnaire and cognitive assessment (Mini‐Mental State Examination‐MMSE and the Clock Drawing Test‐CDT). Participants had their blood collected, and SDS‐PAGE and Western Blotting techniques were used to measure plasma ADAM10 levels.ResultsParticipants with AD were older (p<.001); had less educational attainment (p<.001); worse performance on MMSE (p<.001), and on its domains [Orientation (p<.001), attention, memory (p = .028), language(p<.001), and evocation(p<.001)]; as well as worse performance on CDT (p<.001). Also, compared to the healthy group, persons with AD had significantly higher levels of plasma ADAM10 (p = .04). No difference in BDNF levels was observed between the groups (p = .07). Correlation analyses revealed a significant correlation between ADAM10 and years of education (r = ‐.234; p = .04); MMSE total score (r = ‐.328; p = .003), and its orientation (r = ‐.224; p = .04), attention (r = ‐.278; p = .01), and evocation (r = ‐.332; p = .003) domains. BNDF was not correlated with any of the variables in this study.ConclusionThis study showed that plasma ADAM10 levels in low‐educated older adults, but not BDNF, differ between healthy and AD participants. Our results reinforce the potential role of ADAM10 as a biomarker for AD.