Objective: To investigate whether higher fasting serum glucose levels in cognitively normal, nondiabetic adults were associated with lower regional cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (rCMRgl) in brain regions preferentially affected by Alzheimer disease (AD).Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 124 cognitively normal persons aged 64 6 6 years with a first-degree family history of AD, including 61 APOEe4 noncarriers and 63 carriers. An automated brain mapping algorithm characterized and compared correlations between higher fasting serum glucose levels and lower [18 F]-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET rCMRgl measurements.Results: As predicted, higher fasting serum glucose levels were significantly correlated with lower rCMRgl and were confined to the vicinity of brain regions preferentially affected by AD. A similar pattern of regional correlations occurred in the APOEe4 noncarriers and carriers.Conclusions: Higher fasting serum glucose levels in cognitively normal, nondiabetic adults may be associated with AD pathophysiology. Findings suggest that the risk imparted by higher serum glucose levels may be independent of APOEe4 status. This study raises additional questions about the role of the metabolic process in the predisposition to AD and supports the possibility of targeting these processes in presymptomatic AD trials. Diabetes and related metabolic disorders have been associated with an increased risk of the development of Alzheimer disease (AD).1,2 Elevated fasting serum glucose, an indicator of metabolic dysfunction, has been linked to decreased memory functioning in cognitively normal older adults 3 and may be a risk factor for cognitive impairment 4 or predisposition to AD.
5Therefore, AD prevention research may benefit from the study of elevated fasting serum glucose and the factors that regulate glucose control in cognitively normal individuals without diabetes. [18 F]-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET has demonstrated reduced regional cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (rCMRgl) in specific brain regions of patients with AD. 6,7 Cognitively healthy, older individuals with 1 or 2 copies of the APOEe4 allele have exhibited reductions in these same AD-affected areas, which may indicate a predisposition to AD. 8,9 As in similar studies designed to assess the genetic, nongenetic, and perhaps interacting factors contributing to AD development, 10,11 we propose the use of FDG-PET as a measure of presymptomatic risk 12 in the evaluation of the association between fasting serum glucose levels and rCMRgl in nondiabetic, healthy adults before the onset of AD.In the present study, we utilized FDG-PET to test the hypothesis that higher fasting serum glucose levels in cognitively normal adults without diabetes are associated with lower rCMRgl in brain regions previously demonstrated to be affected in AD. 6 We also characterized these associations in APOEe4 noncarriers and carriers, and tested for a predicted interaction between elevated fasting serum glucose and APOEe4 status in AD-affected brain regions.