Abstract
Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of β-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, while Lewy body dementia (LBD) is characterized by α-synuclein (α-syn) inclusions. Some authors examine α-syn protein in the neurodegeneration process of AD and propose to consider cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) α-syn as a possible additional biomarker to the so-called “core” of AD. Objective: To determine whether there is a correlation between α-syn levels and “core” AD biomarkers in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Materials and methods: In total, 81 patients in the early stages of MCI were selected from the outpatient dementia consultation in Alicante General Hospital. Using a cross-sectional case–control design, patients were analyzed in four groups: stable MCI (MCIs; n = 25), MCI due to AD (MCI-AD; n = 32), MCI due to LBD (MCI-LBD; n = 24) and a control group of patients with acute or chronic headache (Ctrl; n = 18). Correlation between CSF protein levels in the different groups was assessed by the Rho Spearman test. Results: We found positive correlations between T-tau protein and α-syn (ρ = 0.418; p value < 0.05) and p-tau181p and α-syn (ρ = 0.571; p value < 0.05) exclusively in the MCI-AD group. Conclusion: The correlation found between α-syn and tau proteins in the first stages of AD support the involvement of α-syn in the pathogenesis of AD. This result may have clinical and diagnostic implications, as well as help to apply the new concept of “precision medicine” in patients with MCI.
Highlights
Most of the published results indicate that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) α-syn, in combination with the “core” Alzheimer’s disease (AD) CSF biomarkers, have clinical value in the differential diagnosis of AD and Lewy body dementia (LBD) at the stage of dementia, but few authors have not found a role for CSF α-syn as a useful biomarker for AD [3]
T-tau and p-tau181p levels were higher in mild cognitive impairment (MCI)-AD patients compared to the other groups, with no differences between control, stable MCI and MCI due to LBD (MCI-LBD)
The most significant finding of this work was the strong relationship we found between T-tau and p-tau181p with α-syn levels in the MCI due to AD (MCI-AD) group
Summary
Some authors examine α-syn protein in the neurodegeneration process of AD and propose to consider cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) α-syn as a possible additional biomarker to the so-called “core” of AD (Aβ42, T-tau and p-tau181p ). Quantification of α-syn protein in the CSF of AD patients is not usual practice It has been studied by different authors [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of β-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, while Lewy body dementia (LBD) is characterized by α-synuclein (α-syn) inclusions. Some authors examine α-syn protein in the neurodegeneration process of AD and propose to consider cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) α-syn as a possible additional biomarker to the so-called “core” of AD.
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