Plasma amyloid is associated with the rate of cognitive decline in cognitively normal elderly: the SCIENCe project

• Published in: Neurobiology of aging 2020-05, Vol.89, p.99-107
• Main Authors: Verberk, Inge M.W., Hendriksen, Heleen M.A., van Harten, Argonde C., Wesselman, Linda M.P., Verfaillie, Sander C.J., van den Bosch, Karlijn A., Slot, Rosalinde E.R., Prins, Niels. D., Scheltens, Philip, Teunissen, Charlotte E., Van der Flier, Wiesje. M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amyloid beta; Blood biomarkers; Cognitive decline; CSF biomarkers; Neuropsychological tests; Simoa
• ISSN: 0197-4580; 1558-1497
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.01.007

Plasma biomarkers are promising prognostic tools in individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD). We aimed to investigate the relationships of baseline plasma amyloid beta (Aβ)42/Aβ40 and total Tau (tTau) with rate of cognitive decline, in comparison to relationships of baseline cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ42, tTau, and phosphorylated tau181 (pTau181) with rate of cognitive decline. We included 241 subjects with SCD (age = 61 ± 9, 40% female, Mini-Mental State Examination = 28 ± 2) with follow-up (average: 2 ± 2 years, median visits: 3 [range: 1–11]) for re-evaluation of neuropsychological test performance (attention, memory, language, and executive functioning domains). Using age, gender and education-adjusted linear mixed models, we found that lower plasma Aβ42/Aβ40 was associated with steeper rate of decline on tests for attention, memory, and executive functioning, but not language. Lower CSF Aβ42 was associated with steeper decline on tests covering all domains. Associations for plasma amyloid and cognitive decline mirror those of CSF amyloid. Plasma tTau was not associated with rate of cognitive decline, whereas CSF tTau and pTau181 were on multiple tests covering all domains. •Plasma amyloid is related to rate of cognitive decline.•Plasma tau is not related to rate of cognitive decline.•Associations for plasma amyloid and cognitive decline mirror those of CSF amyloid.•Lower amyloid concentration in blood is not a harmless sign in subjects with SCD.