Cerebrospinal fluid could be key in improving Alzheimer’s research

TUESDAY, May 12 (HealthDay News) — Checking levels of certain biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid may help predict the rate of cognitive decline in people with very mild dementia, and this information could be used to improve the effectiveness of clinical trials, say U.S. researchers.

Their study, published in the May issue of the journal Archives of Neurology , included 49 people who’d been diagnosed with very mild Alzheimer’s disease. Samples of cerebrospinal fluid taken from the patients were tested for several biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s, including alpha-beta peptide 1-42 (Aβ42), tau, and phosphorylated tau 181 (ptau 181).

The patients had at least one follow-up assessment an average of 3.5 years later and the researchers found that the “rate of dementia progression was significantly more rapid in individuals with lower baseline cerebrospinal fluid Aβ42 levels, higher tau or ptau 181 levels or high tau:Aβ42 ratios.”

Finding effective treatments for Alzheimer’s will likely depend on early identification of patients, noted study author Dr. Barbara J. Snider and colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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