title: Amyloid beta protein levels in cerebrospinal fluid are elevated in early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: The 4-kd amyloid beta protein (A beta) deposited as amyloid in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is produced and released by normal proteolytic processing of the amyloid beta protein precursor (beta APP) and is readily detected in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Here, we present the levels of A beta in CSF from a total of 95 subjects, including 38 patients with AD, 14 with early-onset AD and 24 with late-onset AD, 25 normal control subjects, and 32 patients with other neurological diseases. The level of A beta decreased with normal aging, and there was a significant elevation in the level of A beta in the CSF of early-onset AD patients (4.14 +/- 1.37 pmol/ml, p < 0.01). Neither Mini-Mental State nor Functional Assessment Staging were correlated with the amount of A beta in the CSF. The A beta/secreted form of beta APP ratio was elevated, but the level of alpha 1-antichymotrypsin in the CSF did not correlate with the level of CSF A beta in early-onset AD patients. Thus, the level of A beta in the CSF is elevated in early-onset AD patients and is suggested to be correlated with the pathology in the brain that characterizes AD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Gunma University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shoji
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Harigaya
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hosoda
authors.forename: T T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Shaffer
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Golde
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Younkin
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Younkin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000514:alpha 1-Antichymotrypsin / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D000514:alpha 1-Antichymotrypsin