Abstract
Consistent evidence indicates the involvement of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). In the present study, we compared serum BDNF in 624 subjects: 266 patients affected by AD, 28 by frontotemporal dementia (FTD), 40 by Lewy body dementia (LBD), 91 by vascular dementia (VAD), 30 by PD, and 169 controls. Our results evidenced lower BDNF serum levels in AD, FTD, LBD, and VAD patients (P < 0.001) and a higher BDNF concentration in patients affected by PD (P = 0.045). Analyses of effects of pharmacological treatments suggested significantly higher BDNF serum levels in patients taking mood stabilizers/antiepileptics (P = 0.009) and L-DOPA (P < 0.001) and significant reductions in patients taking benzodiazepines (P = 0.020). In conclusion, our results support the role of BDNF alterations in neurodegenerative mechanisms common to different forms of neurological disorders and underline the importance of including drug treatment in the analyses to avoid confounding effects.
Highlights
Neurological disorders have rapidly become a significant and growing problem, affecting more than 450 million individuals worldwide
We compared serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in 624 subjects: 266 patients affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD), 28 by frontotemporal dementia (FTD), 40 by Lewy body dementia (LBD), 91 by vascular dementia (VAD), 30 by Parkinson’s disease (PD), and 169 controls
Post-hoc analyses, using Bonferroni correction, found significant decreases in serum BDNF levels in AD, FTD, LBD and VAD patients compared with controls (P < 0.001)
Summary
Neurological disorders have rapidly become a significant and growing problem, affecting more than 450 million individuals worldwide. The identification of molecular dysregulations associated with the diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders may provide important information for the clarification of the pathogenetic mechanisms and for the discovery of new biomarkers for an early, accurate, and differential diagnosis of these diseases [1]. There has been increasing evidence that alterations in the brain neurotrophic support and in particular in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression and signaling might contribute to neurodegeneration [2]. The BDNF is a member of the neurotrophin family of proteins that is important for the normal development of the peripheral and central nervous system and plays a key role in neuronal survival and synaptic plasticity in the adult brain [3]. Altered functionality of BDNF has been observed in different neurodegenerative diseases [4, 5].
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