Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Association of CSF Aβ38Levels with Risk of Alzheimer Disease-Related Decline

Cullen, Nicholas LU ; Janelidze, Shorena LU ; Palmqvist, Sebastian LU orcid ; Stomrud, Erik LU orcid ; Mattsson-Carlgren, Niklas LU orcid and Hansson, Oskar LU orcid (2022) In Neurology 98(9). p.958-967
Abstract

Background and ObjectiveExperimental studies suggest that the balance between short and long β-amyloid (Aβ) species might modulate the toxic effects of Aβ in Alzheimer disease (AD), but clinical evidence is lacking. We studied whether Aβ38 levels in CSF relate to risk of AD dementia and cognitive decline.MethodsCSF Aβ38 levels were measured in 656 individuals across 2 clinical cohorts: the Swedish BioFINDER study and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Cox regression models were used to evaluate the association between baseline Aβ38 levels and risk of AD dementia in AD biomarker-positive individuals (AD+; determined by CSF phosphorylated tau [P-tau]/Aβ42 ratio) with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or mild... (More)

Background and ObjectiveExperimental studies suggest that the balance between short and long β-amyloid (Aβ) species might modulate the toxic effects of Aβ in Alzheimer disease (AD), but clinical evidence is lacking. We studied whether Aβ38 levels in CSF relate to risk of AD dementia and cognitive decline.MethodsCSF Aβ38 levels were measured in 656 individuals across 2 clinical cohorts: the Swedish BioFINDER study and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Cox regression models were used to evaluate the association between baseline Aβ38 levels and risk of AD dementia in AD biomarker-positive individuals (AD+; determined by CSF phosphorylated tau [P-tau]/Aβ42 ratio) with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Linear mixed-effects models were used to evaluate the association between baseline Aβ38 levels and cognitive decline as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in AD+ participants with SCD, MCI, or AD dementia.ResultsIn the BioFINDER cohort, high Aβ38 levels were associated with slower decline in MMSE score (β = 0.30 points per SD, p = 0.001) and with lower risk of conversion to AD dementia (hazard ratio 0.83 per SD, p = 0.03). In the ADNI cohort, higher Aβ38 levels were associated with less decline in MMSE score (β = 0.27, p = 0.01) but not risk of conversion to AD dementia (p = 0.66). Aβ38 levels in both cohorts were significantly associated with both cognitive and clinical outcomes when further adjusted for CSF P-tau or CSF Aβ42 levels.DiscussionHigher CSF Aβ38 levels are associated with lower risk of AD-related changes in 2 independent clinical cohorts. These findings suggest that γ-secretase modulators could be effective as disease-altering therapy.Trial Registration InformationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03174938.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Neurology
volume
98
issue
9
pages
958 - 967
publisher
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
external identifiers
  • scopus:85125554365
  • pmid:34937781
ISSN
0028-3878
DOI
10.1212/WNL.0000000000013228
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7bf1af17-ebe6-484c-afc2-b10ce259b7fe
date added to LUP
2022-05-12 16:20:02
date last changed
2024-06-14 15:10:11
@article{7bf1af17-ebe6-484c-afc2-b10ce259b7fe,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background and ObjectiveExperimental studies suggest that the balance between short and long β-amyloid (Aβ) species might modulate the toxic effects of Aβ in Alzheimer disease (AD), but clinical evidence is lacking. We studied whether Aβ38 levels in CSF relate to risk of AD dementia and cognitive decline.MethodsCSF Aβ38 levels were measured in 656 individuals across 2 clinical cohorts: the Swedish BioFINDER study and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Cox regression models were used to evaluate the association between baseline Aβ38 levels and risk of AD dementia in AD biomarker-positive individuals (AD+; determined by CSF phosphorylated tau [P-tau]/Aβ42 ratio) with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Linear mixed-effects models were used to evaluate the association between baseline Aβ38 levels and cognitive decline as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in AD+ participants with SCD, MCI, or AD dementia.ResultsIn the BioFINDER cohort, high Aβ38 levels were associated with slower decline in MMSE score (β = 0.30 points per SD, p = 0.001) and with lower risk of conversion to AD dementia (hazard ratio 0.83 per SD, p = 0.03). In the ADNI cohort, higher Aβ38 levels were associated with less decline in MMSE score (β = 0.27, p = 0.01) but not risk of conversion to AD dementia (p = 0.66). Aβ38 levels in both cohorts were significantly associated with both cognitive and clinical outcomes when further adjusted for CSF P-tau or CSF Aβ42 levels.DiscussionHigher CSF Aβ38 levels are associated with lower risk of AD-related changes in 2 independent clinical cohorts. These findings suggest that γ-secretase modulators could be effective as disease-altering therapy.Trial Registration InformationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03174938. </p>}},
  author       = {{Cullen, Nicholas and Janelidze, Shorena and Palmqvist, Sebastian and Stomrud, Erik and Mattsson-Carlgren, Niklas and Hansson, Oskar}},
  issn         = {{0028-3878}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  number       = {{9}},
  pages        = {{958--967}},
  publisher    = {{Lippincott Williams & Wilkins}},
  series       = {{Neurology}},
  title        = {{Association of CSF Aβ<sub>38</sub>Levels with Risk of Alzheimer Disease-Related Decline}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000013228}},
  doi          = {{10.1212/WNL.0000000000013228}},
  volume       = {{98}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}