Biomarkers of Basic Activities of Daily Living in Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract

Functional impairment is common in Alzheimer’s disease, and related to increased caregiver burden and institutionalization. There is a dearth of research investigating the relationship between specific biomarkers and basic activities of daily living such as toileting, feeding, dressing, grooming, bathing, and ambulating. The present study examined the relationship between serum based biomarkers and specific activities of daily living in a sample of Alzheimer’s disease patients Data were collected from 196 participants enrolled in the Texas Alzheimer’s Research and Care Consortium Project and diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Basic activities of daily living were measured using the Lawton-Brody Physical Self-Maintenance Scale. A panel of 22 biomarkers previously found to be related to AD pathology was used for the analysis. Stepwise regression modeling was used to assess the link between the biomarkers and basic ADLs. Results were also examined by gender. Nine of the 22 biomarkers were significantly related to basic ADLS. When stratified by gender, the biomarkers accounted for 32% of the variance in the male’s scores and 27% in females. The pattern of significant biomarkers differed by gender with IL-7 and Tenascin C significantly related to basic activities of daily living for females and IL-15 significantly related to basic activities of daily living for males. The results of this study indicated that a small number of serum based biomarkers are related to basic ADLs, and these biomarkers differed by gender.

Biomarkers of Vascular Risk, Systemic Inflammation, and Microvascular Pathology and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Alzheimer's Disease

“…Based on the literature and our prior work on biomarkers of depression [27, 28] and biomarkers of functional behavior in Alzheimer’s [36], the serum-based clinical biomarkers of vascular risk selected for analysis were Total Cholesterol, Homocysteine and Triglycerides and the biomarkers of inflammation related to Alzheimer’s disease were IL-1ra1, IL-7, IL-10, IL-15, IL-18, TNFα (Tumor Necrosis Factor) and CRP. IL-6, which has been related to a number of neuropsychiatric disorders, was measured but fell below the detectable range and was not included in the panel of biomarkers.…”

“…A number of pro- and anti-inflammatory markers have been related to neuropsychiatric symptoms and functional level in aging and Alzheimer’s disease including TNFα [31], IL-1 [32, 33], IL-6 [30, 34, 35], IL-7 [36], IL-10 [37], IL-15 [38] and IL-18 [39]. …”

“…Our previous research on biomarkers of depression [27, 28] and functional impairment [36] in Alzheimer’s disease has shown the importance of studying gender effects directly; therefore the current study also evaluated the impact of gender on the biomarker/neuropsychiatric symptom relationship.…”

Serum-based Protein Profiles of Alzheimer’s Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Elderly Hispanics

“…Chronic kidney disease-related dysfunction and presence of low-grade inflammation in older adults; upregulated in AD and MCI [33,34] PPY Increased levels in plasma and CSF in subjects with AD and MCI [35] CA-125 Mainly upregulated in ovarian cancer, in older women it is associated with worse functional status; to date no association has been found with AD [36] CRP Associated with neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques in AD brain tissue [37] sVCAM1 Member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, elevated levels have been found in plasma of AD subjects [38] THPO Induces the proliferation and maturation of megakaryocytes; plasma levels show difference in subjects with dementia compared with controls [39] A2M Mediates Aβ toxicity, clearance and degradation; upregulated in AD subjects [40,41] Eotaxin3 Together with ApoE it discriminates between control and AD; increased levels have been found in plasma and CSF in AD subjects [35,42] TNF-α Involved in neuronal apoptosis and formation of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques; higher blood concentrations were detected in AD subjects [43,44] TN-C Involved in the development of neurons and axons, neuronal regeneration, microglial activation and inflammatory responses; increased levels have been found in plasma and CSF in AD subjects [34,35,45] IL-5 Specific hematopoietic growth factor that together with other proteins forms a biomarker profile that can distinguish AD from controls [18] IL-6 Involved in neuronal apoptosis and formation of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques; elevated levels have been found in blood but not in CSF in AD subjects [43,44] IL-7 Induces the synthesis of inflammatory mediators such as IL-1 and IL-6; in plasma there is no difference between AD subjects compared with controls, but in CSF there is a downregulation in MCI subjects [46] IL-10 Anti-inflammatory properties and may play a role in schizophrenia pathogenesis; concentrations did not differ between AD subjects and controls [44,47] IL-18 Probable mediator of cerebral pathogenic processes, microglia activator, involved in neuroendocrine and neuroimmune functions; higher blood concentrations were detected in AD subjects [43,44,48] …”

Cholesterol Diet-Associated Changes in the Hippocampus - A Prelude to Alzheimer's Disease?

“…Additionally, there is a relationship between estrogen signaling and the risk for AD because AD affects women differently than men (Carter et al, 2012;Regitz-Zagrosek and Seeland, 2012). Women are more vulnerable to more severe behavioral effects of AD and more pronounced cognitive decline than men (Chapman et al, 2011;Irvine et al, 2012;Hall et al, 2012). Furthermore, APOE ε4, the strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic AD, has been associated with higher risk for AD in women than in men and APOE ε2, a neuroprotective variant, confers greater protection against AD in men than in women (Altmann et al, 2014;Ungar et al, 2014).…”