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The diagnostic value of tau protein, β‐amyloid (1–42) and their ratio for the discrimination of alcohol‐related cognitive disorders from Alzheimer's disease in the early stages
Author(s) -
Kapaki Elisabeth,
Liappas Ioannis,
Paraskevas George P.,
Theotoka Ilia,
Rabavilas Andreas
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.1351
Subject(s) - dementia , alcohol abuse , alzheimer's disease , cerebrospinal fluid , ageing , medicine , tau protein , cognitive decline , disease , psychology , psychiatry , gastroenterology
Background Chronic and heavy alcohol abuse or dependence may result in impaired cognition and dementia. The increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in older individuals interferes with the differential diagnosis, especially when dealing with elderly patients with a long history of alcohol abuse. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of the putative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers tau, β‐amyloid 1–42 (Aβ42) and their ratio in differentiating alcohol related cognitive disorder (ARCD) from AD. Methods Double‐sandwich ELISA (Innotest htau antigen and β‐Amyloid (1–42), Innogenetics) were used to quantify the above markers in a total of 20 patients with ARCD, 33 AD patients with mild to moderate dementia and 50 mentally intact subjects. Results Tau protein successfully differentiated AD from normal ageing with 96% specificity and 93.9% sensitivity and from ARCD with 95% specificity, and 87.9% sensitivity. Aβ42 alone had a specificity of 88% and a sensitivity of 69.7% in differentiating AD from normal ageing, while the corresponding values for differentiating AD from ARCD were 80% and 84.8% respectively. The tau/Aβ42 ratio was better than tau alone for differentiating AD from normal ageing (specificity 94%, sensitivity 97%) and better than any of the candidate markers alone, for differentiating AD from ARCD (specificity 100%, sensitivity 97%). Conclusions The combined use of CSF tau and Aβ42 may be a useful tool in the differential diagnosis of ARCD from AD, especially in the early stages, where diagnostic uncertainty is greater. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.