Primary fatty amides in plasma associated with brain amyloid burden, hippocampal volume, and memory in the European Medical Information Framework for Alzheimer's Disease biomarker discovery cohort.

INTRODUCTION: A critical and as-yet unmet need in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the discovery of peripheral small molecule biomarkers. Given that brain pathology precedes clinical symptom onset, we set out to test whether metabolites in blood associated with pathology as indexed by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers. METHODS: This study analyzed 593 plasma samples selected from the European Medical Information Framework for Alzheimer's Disease Multimodal Biomarker Discovery study, of individuals who were cognitively healthy (n = 242), had mild cognitive impairment (n = 236), or had AD-type dementia (n = 115). Logistic regressions were carried out between plasma metabolites (n = 883) and CSF markers, magnetic resonance imaging, cognition, and clinical diagnosis. RESULTS: Eight metabolites were associated with amyloid ß and one with t-tau in CSF, these were primary fatty acid amides (PFAMs), lipokines, and amino acids. From these, PFAMs, glutamate, and aspartate also associated with hippocampal volume and memory. DISCUSSION: PFAMs have been found increased and associated with amyloid ß burden in CSF and clinical measures.

Maternal asthma, race and low birth weight deliveries.

BACKGROUND: Asthma during pregnancy may compromise the well-being of the fetus and potentially impact an infant's birth weight via different mechanisms. AIMS: 1) To assess the influence of asthma during pregnancy on the incidence of LBW outcomes in white non-Hispanic (WNH) and black non-Hispanic (BNH) women. 2) To identify other risk factors that affect low birth weight (LBW) (birth weight<2500g) outcomes among asthmatic women. DESIGN/SUBJECTS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of compiled perinatal data on 17,073 patients including 9348 WNH and 7725 BNH women delivering at the George Washington University Hospital between 1990 and 2003. Univariate and logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations. RESULTS: A total of 423 (2.5%) women had an asthma diagnosis, with a higher incidence in BNH women when compared to WNH women (3.4% vs. 1.7%, P<0.001). In the WNH population, asthmatic women had higher incidences of gravidity, thyroid disease, and illicit drug use, whereas in the BNH population, asthmatic women had higher incidences of increased body mass index (BMI), and use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs. After controlling for confounders in multiple logistic regression analyses, there was an association between asthma and LBW outcomes in BNH women (OR: 1.7, CI: 1.1-2.6, p=0.01), but not in WNH women (OR=0.99, CI=0.5-2.2, p=0.97). CONCLUSIONS: Asthma during pregnancy is a risk factor for LBW outcomes in BNH but not WNH women. The increased alcohol and illicit drug use in BNH women with asthma is an unexpected finding that deserves further study.