New Protein Implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease

Speculating that blood-based analytes may serve as markers of the pathological processes in Alzheimer disease, Simon Lovestone, from Kings College (United Kingdom), and colleagues conducted a study involving proteomics, immunodetection, and neuroimaging to identify plasma proteins associated with the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers completed two small discovery-phase analyses and found that clusterin, a plasma protein, was significantly associated with atrophy of the hippocampus, as well as the speed of progression of the decline.  The team then analyzed data from 689 subjects, including 464 people with Alzheimer's and 115 with mild cognitive impairment, measuring the atrophy of the entorhinal cortex.  Clusterin was associated with brain atrophy, significantly so among the Alzheimer's patients. Plasma clusterin concentration was also significantly and negatively correlated associated with scores on the mini-mental state exam in those participants with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's Disease. The team concludes that: “These results demonstrate an important role of clusterin in the pathogenesis of [Alzheimer's Disease] and suggest that alterations in amyloid chaperone proteins may be a biologically relevant peripheral signature of [Alzheimer's Disease].