Elevation of the Plasma Aß40/Aß42 Ratio as a Diagnostic Marker of Sporadic Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Although plasma amyloid-ß (Aß) levels have been evaluated as a possible diagnostic marker of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the findings are inconsistent. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to validate plasma levels of Aß40, Aß42, and the Aß40/Aß42 ratio as biomarkers of AD in subjects with early-onset AD (EOAD) without familial AD genetic mutations. METHODS: Patients with sporadic EOAD (sEOAD) were prospectively recruited by nine neurology clinics. Plasma levels of Aß40 and Aß42 were measured using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 100 sEOAD (50-69 year-old) and 46 age-matched normal control subjects (50-72 year-old). Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was obtained from 32 sEOAD subjects and 25 controls. The integrity of the blood-brain barrier was assessed using the CSF/plasma albumin ratio. RESULTS: The plasma levels of Aß42 were significantly lower, while the Aß40/Aß42 ratio was significantly higher in sEOAD patients than in controls. The levels of Aß40, Aß42, and the Aß40/Aß42 ratio did not differ in relation to the APOEɛ4 allele. The CSF/plasma albumin ratio was comparable between the two groups, and the plasma parameters of Aß proteins were not significantly associated. A multivariate analysis revealed that an increased Aß40/Aß42 ratio is valuable for the discrimination of sEOAD from controls (ß=0.344, p=0.000). The area under the ROC curve for the Aß40/Aß42 ratio was 0.76, and a cut-off ratio of 5.87 was suggested to have 70% sensitivity and 68% specificity. CONCLUSION: The plasma Aß40/Aß42 ratio had moderate validity for the discrimination of sEOAD patients from age-matched controls.