Elevated interleukin-6 levels in cerebrospinal fluid of vascular dementia patients.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate a possible implication of inflammatory processes in the development of dementia in cerebrovascular disease.


METHODS
We examined the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n = 26), ischemic cerebrovascular disease without dementia (CVD) (n = 11), vascular dementia (VD) (n = 11), and other neurological disorders (n = 21) using sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.


RESULTS
The CSF concentrations of IL-6 were significantly elevated in patients with VD compared with those of patients with AD or CVD.


CONCLUSIONS
The CSF IL-6 levels are increased in patients with VD, suggesting that inflammatory mechanisms may be involved in the development of cognitive decline in some patients with cerebrovascular disease. CSF IL-6 may be a biological marker for dementia in cerebrovascular disease.
Wada-Isoe
K
K
Department of Neurology, Institute of Neurological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan. kewada@grape.med.tottori-u.ac.jp
Wakutani
Y
Y
Urakami
K
K
Nakashima
K
K
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000150:complications; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid
D015850:Interleukin-6; D016875:tau Proteins