Increasing CSF phospho-tau levels during cognitive decline and progression to dementia

Andersson, Christin; Blennow, Kaj; Almkvist, Ove; Andreasen, Niels; Engfeldt, Peter; Johansson, Sven-Erik; Lindau, Maria; Eriksdotter-Jönhagen, Maria

doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2007.03.027

« Previous Next »Neurobiology of Aging
Volume 29, Issue 10 , Pages 1466-1473, October 2008

Increasing CSF phospho-tau levels during cognitive decline and progression to dementia

Christin Andersson
- Department of Neurobiology, Caring Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, NOVUM Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, S-141 86 Stockholm, Sweden
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +46 858 585 483; fax: +46 858 586 465.
Kaj Blennow
- Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Göteborg, Sweden
Ove Almkvist
- Department of Neurobiology, Caring Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, NOVUM Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, S-141 86 Stockholm, Sweden
Niels Andreasen
- Department of Neurobiology, Caring Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, NOVUM Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, S-141 86 Stockholm, Sweden
Peter Engfeldt
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Family Medicine Research Centre, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
Sven-Erik Johansson
- Department of Neurobiology, Caring Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, NOVUM Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, S-141 86 Stockholm, Sweden
Maria Lindau
- Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences/Geriatrics, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden
Maria Eriksdotter-Jönhagen
- Department of Neurobiology, Caring Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, NOVUM Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, S-141 86 Stockholm, Sweden

Received 4 December 2006; received in revised form 21 March 2007; accepted 30 March 2007. published online 21 May 2007.

Abstract

Background

Little is known about longitudinal changes of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers during cognitive decline in neurodegenerative disease progression.

Objective

To investigate longitudinal changes in CSF biomarkers – total-tau (T-tau), phospho-tau (P-tau) and β-amyloid (Aβ42) – during cognitive decline.

Methods

Forty memory clinic patients (47.5% females), aged 61.3±7.6 (S.D.) years, non-demented at baseline, underwent lumbar puncture and neuropsychological testing at two occasions. Baseline mean MMSE-score was 28.3±1.8. Patients were divided into three groups based on baseline memory functioning; severely impaired (SIM), moderately impaired (MIM) and no impairment (NIM).

Results

There was a significant increase in P-tau in the SIM-group during follow-up, while P-tau in MIM and NIM did not change. Eighty-three percent of the SIM-patients converted to dementia (80% AD), while most MIM- and NIM-patients remained non-demented. T-tau- and Aβ42-levels did not change in any of the memory groups during follow-up.

Conclusion

Increasing P-tau levels during cognitive decline and conversion to dementia suggest that P-tau may be useful as a longitudinal marker of the neurodegenerative process.

Keywords: Episodic memory, RAVLT, MCI, Dementia, Longitudinal, Cognitive decline, CSF biomarkers