Serum zonulin levels are increased in Alzheimer's disease but not in vascular dementia.
Aging Clin Exp Res
; 35(9): 1835-1843, 2023 Sep.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37337075
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Zonulin is involved in the integrity and functioning of both intestinal-epithelial barrier and blood-brain barrier (BBB) by regulating tight junction molecular assembly.AIM:
Since changes in microbiota and BBB may play a role in neurodegenerative disorders, we aimed to determine whether serum zonulin levels change in older patients affected by different types of dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI).METHODS:
We evaluated serum zonulin levels in patients with late-onset AD (LOAD), vascular dementia (VAD), MIXED (AD + VAD) dementia, amnestic MCI, and in healthy controls.RESULTS:
Compared with controls, serum zonulin increased in LOAD, MIXED dementia, and aMCI but not in VAD, independent of potential confounders (ANCOVA p = 0.01; LOAD vs controls, p = 0.01; MIXED vs. controls, p = 0.003; aMCI vs. controls, p = 0.04). Notably, aMCI converting to dementia showed significantly higher levels of zonulin compared with stable aMCI (p = 0.04). Serum zonulin inversely correlated with the standardized Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score (p < 0.05), regardless of potential confounders.DISCUSSION:
We found increased serum zonulin levels in patients with aMCI, LOAD and MIXED dementia, but not in VAD; moreover, zonulin levels were higher in aMCI converting to AD compared with stable ones.CONCLUSIONS:
Our findings suggest that a dysregulation of intestinal-epithelial barrier and/or BBB may be an early specific event in AD-related neurodegeneration.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Bases de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Demência Vascular
/
Doença de Alzheimer
/
Disfunção Cognitiva
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
Limite:
Aged
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Aging Clin Exp Res
Assunto da revista:
GERIATRIA
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Itália