Neuroinflammation Mediators are Reduced in Sera of Parkinson's Disease Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

INTRODUCTION

Cognitive impairment is common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and PD patients with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) are at increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). Reliable biomarkers are required for objective identification of cognitive decline in PD. In this pilot study, serum levels of well-known mediators of neuroinflammation were measured in PD patients with or without MCI to find out the involvement of neuroinflammation and microglial activation in PD-MCI.

METHODS

36 PD-MCI, 25 PD patients with normal cognition (PD-NC) and 19 healthy controls were recruited. Serum levels of NLR family pyrin domain containing 1 (NLRP1), NLRP3, caspase-1, NF-kB, IL-1b and IL-18 were measured by ELISA and a panel of neuropsychological tests was administered.

RESULTS

PD-MCI patients showed significantly reduced levels of NF-kB, IL-1b and IL-18, whereas NLRP1, NLRP3 and caspase-1 levels were comparable among PD-NC and PD-MCI patients. IL-18 levels were positively correlated with Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised and Symbol Digit Modalities Test scores.

CONCLUSION

Levels of several microglial activation mediators are reduced in PD-MCI patients inferring a protective role to certain inflammation factors against cognitive decline in PD.