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Cerebrospinal fluid biomarker results in relation to neuropathological dementia diagnoses
Author(s) -
Brunnström Hans,
Rawshani Nina,
Zetterberg Henrik,
Blennow Kaj,
Minthon Lennart,
Passant Ulla,
Englund Elisabet
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2009.12.005
Subject(s) - dementia , frontotemporal lobar degeneration , cerebrospinal fluid , pathological , medicine , frontotemporal dementia , biomarker , concordance , medical diagnosis , pathology , lumbar puncture , disease , neuropathology , vascular dementia , dementia with lewy bodies , tau protein , psychology , alzheimer's disease , biochemistry , chemistry
Background Clinical dementia diagnoses are not always consistent with neuropathological findings. As correct diagnosis is important for treatment and care, new diagnostic possibilities for dementia are in demand. Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers should ideally be able to identify ongoing processes in the brain, but need to be further compared with neuropathological findings for evaluation of their diagnostic validity. Methods This study included 43 patients with a clinical dementia disorder. All patients were neuropathologically examined at the University Hospital in Lund, Sweden, during the years 2001‐2008, and all had a lumbar puncture carried out as part of the clinical investigation during the time of cognitive impairment. Results Of eight patients, five with Alzheimer's disease had elevated total tau protein (T‐tau) and decreased amyloid beta 1‐42 protein (Aβ42), while both values for the other three patients were normal. Slightly elevated T‐tau and/or decreased Aβ42 were also seen in several patients with other dementia diagnoses such as Lewy body disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration and vascular dementia. Furthermore, T‐tau levels did not differ markedly between patients with morphologically tau‐positive and tau‐negative frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Also, seven of nine patients with Creutzfeldt‐Jacob disease exhibited pronounced elevation in T‐tau concentration. Conclusion From this rather limited study, being the first of its kind in Sweden, we may conclude that there is no perfect concordance between cerebrospinal fluid biomarker levels and pathological findings, which should be taken into account in the clinical diagnostic setting.