Search

Background: VGF and neuroserpin are neurosecretory proteins involved in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. We aimed to evaluate their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Lewy body disease (LBD)., Methods: We measured CSF VGF [AQEE] peptide and neuroserpin levels in 108 LBD patients, 76 AD patients and 37 controls, and tested their associations with clinical scores and CSF AD markers., Results: We found decreased CSF levels of VGF [AQEE] in patients with LBD and dementia compared to controls (p = 0.016) and patients with AD-dementia (p = 0.011), but with significant influence of age and sex distribution. Moreover, we observed, on the one hand, a significant associations between lower VGF [AQEE] and neuroserpin levels and poorer cognitive performance (i.e., lower Mini-Mental State Examination scores). On the other hand, higher levels of CSF tau proteins, especially pTau181, were significantly associated with higher concentrations of VGF [AQEE] and neuroserpin. Indeed, LBD patients with AD-like CSF profiles, especially T+ profiles, had higher levels of VGF [AQEE] and neuroserpin compared to controls and LBD/T- cases., Discussion: CSF VGF [AQEE] and neuroserpin may show a complex relationship with cognitive decline when the levels are reduced, and with AD pathology when levels are increased. They may represent novel markers of neurosecretory impairment in neurodegenerative disorders., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest PO received consultancy fees from LifeArc. MO gave scientific advice for Fujirebio, Roche, Biogen and Axon. The other authors have nothing to declare., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Alterations in the CSF/serum albumin ratio (Qalb) is currently recognized as one of the most reliable markers of blood-brain barrier impairment and blood-CSF barrier permeability, but its potential role as a biomarker in the differential diagnosis of neurological diseases has been poorly analysed., Methods: We evaluated Qalb and core CSF biomarkers (Tau, p-Tau and Aβ42) in a large patient population of neurological and neurodegenerative cases. Diagnostic test evaluation was assessed by ROC-AUC analysis., Results: In the differential diagnostic analysis, increased Qalb was found in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) patients compared to other diseases, either individually or stratified in non-dementia and dementia groups. When clinical groups were analysed individually and compared to controls, Qalb was also increased in stroke and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) cases, but not in Parkinson's disease (PD). Qalb in DLB cases correlate with CSF Aβ42 levels but not with Tau and p-Tau levels. Due to the lower CSF Aβ42 levels in DLB compared to PD and PDD, the potential clinical applicability of Qalb with respect to the DLB diagnosis is increased in combination with CSF Aβ42 analysis., Conclusions: The present study demonstrates increased Qalb in synucleinopathies associated with dementia revealing a potential new clinical approach for the differential diagnosis of DLB., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study examined the diagnostic value of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers and iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine ((123)I-MIBG) cardiac scintigraphy in distinguishing dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) from Alzheimer's disease (AD)., Methods: CSF levels of amyloid beta1-42 (Abeta42) and 181-Thr phosphorylated tau (p-tau) were measured using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. (123)I-MIBG cardiac scintigraphy was performed in patients with AD and DLB, and control (CTL) subjects., Results: Increased CSF levels of p-tau in AD were found compared to DLB patients and CTL subjects (P<0.01), but there was no significant difference in CSF levels of Abeta42 between AD and DLB patients. The early and delayed heart to mediastinum (H/M) ratios of (123)I-MIBG cardiac scintigraphy were significantly decreased in patients with DLB compared to AD patients and CTL subjects (P<0.01). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that the diagnostic value of (123)I-MIBG cardiac scintigraphy was superior to that of CSF markers., Conclusions: (123)I-MIBG cardiac scintigraphy may be useful for discriminating between DLB and AD.

Excessive daytime sleepiness has been widely accepted as a common problem not only in Parkinson's disease (PD) but also in other related disorders. Lowered excretion of orexin A (hypocretin 1) into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is known to play a pathological role in narcolepsy and secondary hypersomnia due to hypothalamic dysfunction. Although the levels of CSF orexin in PD have been previously examined, the results have been controversial, and no systematic investigation of CSF orexin excretion has been conducted on PD related disorders. In this study, orexin was measured in CSF collected by lumbar puncture in 62 patients with PD, 13 patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), 16 patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and 7 patients with corticobasal degeneration (CBD). Levels of CSF orexin (mean+/-SD pg/ml) were 302+/-38 in PD, 297+/-48 in DLB, 258+/-37 in PSP, 246+/-90 in CBD. The occurrence of low orexin levels (