Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, 99 Yakhchal Street, Shariati Avenue, Tehran, 1941933111, Iran.
Memory and Behavioral Neurology Division, Department of Psychiatry, Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Neurol Sci. 2021 Jul;42(7):2865-2872. doi: 10.1007/s10072-020-04909-1. Epub 2020 Nov 19.
A growing body of evidence that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) levels are probably involved in pathogenesis and disease course of Alzheimer's disease (AD) suggested that its blood levels could potentially be used as a biomarker of AD. The aim of this study was to compare serum GDNF levels in patients with AD and age-matched controls.
Serum concentrations of GDNF were compared in 25 AD patients and 25 healthy volunteers using a double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Severity of the disease in AD patients was assessed using Functional Assessment Staging (FAST). Cognitive assessment of the patients was done using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).
Mean GDNF levels were found to be 2.45 ± 0.93 ng/ml in AD patients and 4.61 ± 3.39 ng/ml in age-matched controls. There was a statistically significant difference in GDNF serum levels in patients with AD compared to age-matched controls (p = 0.001). Moreover, GDNF serum levels were significantly correlated with disease severity (p < 0.001) and cognitive impairment (p < 0.001).
This study showed that serum levels of GDNF are significantly decreased in AD patients in comparison with age-matched controls, thus suggesting a potential role of GDNF as a disease biomarker. However, a comprehensive study of changes in serum levels of multiple neurotrophic factors reflective of different neurobiological pathways in large-scale population studies is recommended.
越来越多的证据表明胶质细胞源性神经营养因子（GDNF）水平可能与阿尔茨海默病（AD）的发病机制和病程有关，这表明其血液水平可能可作为 AD 的生物标志物。本研究旨在比较 AD 患者和年龄匹配的对照组的血清 GDNF 水平。
采用双抗体夹心酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）比较 25 例 AD 患者和 25 名健康志愿者的血清 GDNF 浓度。采用功能评估分期（FAST）评估 AD 患者的疾病严重程度。采用简易精神状态检查（MMSE）对患者进行认知评估。
AD 患者的平均 GDNF 水平为 2.45±0.93ng/ml，年龄匹配的对照组为 4.61±3.39ng/ml。AD 患者的 GDNF 血清水平与年龄匹配的对照组相比存在统计学差异（p=0.001）。此外，GDNF 血清水平与疾病严重程度（p<0.001）和认知障碍（p<0.001）显著相关。
本研究表明，与年龄匹配的对照组相比，AD 患者的血清 GDNF 水平显著降低，因此提示 GDNF 可能作为疾病生物标志物的潜在作用。然而，建议在大规模人群研究中，对反映不同神经生物学途径的多种神经营养因子的血清水平变化进行全面研究。
