Laboratory for Psychiatry and Exp. Alzheimer's Research, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Innsbruck Medical University, Austria.
Curr Alzheimer Res. 2012 Oct;9(8):982-9. doi: 10.2174/156720512803251156.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent type of dementia. Despite considerable advances in diagnostic accuracy, diagnostic procedures that are easily accessible are still sorely needed. Blood biomarkers are therefore in the focus of research. Platelets contain a high concentration of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), which has been mentioned as a potentially useful diagnostic marker. The aim of the present study was to analyze various cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), cytokines, growth factors, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in platelets of AD and mild cognitively impaired (MCI) patients as compared to healthy controls. Our data show a significant decrease in the levels of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and of MMP-2 in platelets of AD patients and decreased levels of MMP-2 in MCI. The APP ratio was slightly but not significantly decreased in AD patients, whereas CD40L and serotonin were unchanged. Our findings demonstrate specific changes in AD platelets. Whether these biomarkers can be established as potential early diagnostic biomarkers for AD remains to be established in longitudinal studies.
阿尔茨海默病（AD）是最常见的痴呆类型。尽管在诊断准确性方面取得了相当大的进展，但仍迫切需要易于获得的诊断程序。因此，血液生物标志物是研究的重点。血小板含有高浓度的淀粉样前体蛋白（APP），APP 已被提及为一种潜在有用的诊断标志物。本研究的目的是分析 AD 和轻度认知障碍（MCI）患者与健康对照组的血小板中的各种细胞黏附分子（CAM）、细胞因子、生长因子和基质金属蛋白酶（MMPs）。我们的数据显示，AD 患者血小板中的表皮生长因子（EGF）和 MMP-2 水平显著降低，MCI 患者 MMP-2 水平降低。AD 患者的 APP 比值略有但无统计学意义降低，而 CD40L 和血清素不变。我们的研究结果表明 AD 血小板存在特异性变化。这些生物标志物是否可以作为 AD 的潜在早期诊断标志物，仍需要在纵向研究中确定。
