Cerebrospinal fluid and saliva lactoferrin as a diagnostic biomarker for Alzheimer's disease in a mixed memory clinic population. (31st December 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gleerup, Helena Sophia; Jensen, Camilla Steen; Høgh, Peter; Hasselbalch, Steen Gregers; Simonsen, Anja Hviid
• Is Part Of: Alzheimer's & dementia. Volume 17(2021)Supplement 5
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2021-12-31
• Subjects: Alzheimer's disease -- Periodicals; Alzheimer Disease -- Periodicals; Dementia -- Periodicals; Démence; Maladie d'Alzheimer; Périodique électronique (Descripteur de forme); Ressource Internet (Descripteur de forme); 616.83
• DOI: 10.1002/alz.052140
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1552-5260

Abstract

Abstract: Background: The pathological changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders begin decades prior to their clinical expression. However, the clinical diagnosis of neurodegenerative dementias is not straightforward. Saliva is an easily obtained source of biomarkers, and previous studies have shown that biomarkers such as amyloid 1‐42 (Ab42 ), tau, lactoferrin and selected metabolites could be potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of AD and other neurodegenerative dementias. Lactoferrin is an iron‐binding, antimicrobial glycoprotein with a plethora of functions, including acting as an important immune modulator and by having a bacteriocidic effect, all factors which have been shown to be involved in the development and progression of AD. Two previous studies indicated that salivary lactoferrin could differentiate between neurodegenerative dementias. For the first time, lactoferrin levels were measured in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in a consecutive cohort of patients from two memory clinics, and furthermore salivary lactoferrin was evaluated for its differentiation between AD and other neurodegenerative dementias. Method: From two mixed, memory clinic cohorts, 222 CSF and saliva samples from 71 patients diagnosed with AD, 56 patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 75 patients diagnosed with non‐AD dementia and 20 subjects classified as healthy controls (HC), were analysed for lactoferrin. In addition, the association between lactoferrin in CSF and saliva and the concentrations of tau, phosphorylated tau (p‐tau) and amyloid 1‐42 (Ab42 ) in CSF were addressed. Result: There was no correlation between CSF and saliva lactoferrin. Furthermore, no statistically significant differences were found in the levels of CSF or saliva lactoferrin between the diagnostic groups. In addition, no significant relationships were found between lactoferrin levels and tau, p‐tau and Ab42, respectively. Conclusion: For the first time, CSF lactoferrin levels were assessed in mixed memory clinic cohorts. Although lactoferrin levels were quantifiable in CSF and saliva, neither CSF nor saliva lactoferrin could differentiate between neurodegenerative dementias in this study.