title: Plasma Abeta42 correlates positively with increased body fat in healthy individuals.
abstract: Obesity and overweight, well known risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, are now associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). It remains to be determined if obesity and overweight contribute to the risk of developing AD through modulating levels of amyloid-beta (Abeta), a key molecule in AD pathogenesis. Thus, we investigated whether there were any associations between plasma Abeta levels and body mass index (BMI) or fat mass (FM) in a group of 18 healthy adults. A statistically significant correlation was found between BMI, FM, and plasma levels of Abeta42 (BMI r = 0.602, P = 0.008; FM r = 0.547, P = 0.019), the longer, more pathogenic form of Abeta, but not with plasma levels of the shorter, less pathogenic Abeta40. Although not significant, positive correlations between plasma levels of Abeta42 and levels of insulin and the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP), along with an inverse trend between plasma Abeta42 levels and levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) were answered. These results suggest that proteins implicated in inflammation, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, which in turn are risk factors for AD, may contribute to the associations between BMI/FM and plasma Abeta42 levels. Longitudinal studies involving larger cohorts are required to determine if elevated body fat may predispose individuals to AD through increasing Abeta42 levels throughout early to late adulthood.
authors.affiliation: The Sir James McCusker Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit, C/- Hollywood Private Hospital, Monash Avenue, Nedlands WA 6009, Australia.
authors.forename: Kelvin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Balakrishnan
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Verdile
authors.forename: Pankaj D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Beilby
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nolan
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Galvão
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Newton
authors.forename: Samuel E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Gandy
authors.forename: Ralph N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Martins
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism*; D000328:Adult; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000097:blood*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D007328:Insulin; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C075222:amyloid beta-protein (1-42); D002097:C-Reactive Protein