title: Platelet amyloid precursor protein abnormalities in mild cognitive impairment predict conversion to dementia of Alzheimer type: a 2-year follow-up study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alteration of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) forms ratio has been described in the platelets of patients with dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT) and in a subset of subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the potential role of the platelet APP forms ratio in predicting progression from MCI to DAT.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty subjects with MCI underwent a clinical and neuropsychological examination and a determination of the platelet APP forms ratio. Subjects were followed up periodically for 2 years, and the progression to dementia was evaluated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community population-based sample of patients admitted for memory complaints.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients who progressed to DAT at the 2-year follow-up (n = 12) showed a significant decrease of baseline platelet APP forms ratio values (mean +/- SD, 0.36 +/- 0.28) compared with stable MCI subjects (mean +/- SD, 0.73 +/- 0.32) (P<.01) and patients who developed other types of dementia (mean +/- SD, 0.83 +/- 0.27) (P =.03). By fixing a cutoff score of 0.6, 10 (83%) of the 12 DAT patients showed baseline values below the cutoff, whereas 10 (71%) of 14 subjects who either developed non-Alzheimer-type dementia or maintained cognitive functions had values in the normal range.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mild cognitive impairment is a major risk factor for DAT, and Alzheimer disease-related pathological changes can be identified in patients converting to DAT within a 2-year follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Borroni
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Colciaghi
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caltagirone
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rozzini
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Broglio
authors.forename: Flaminio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cattabeni
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Luca
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Padovani
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000097:blood*; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000378:metabolism*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor