title: Is there a relationship between high C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and dementia?
abstract: Inflammation is believed to play a pivotal role in dementia, but its role is still unclear. The aim of our study was to analyze the interplay among markers of inflammation, such as fibrinogen and high CRP levels, and dementia. First, we performed a cross-sectional study comparing markers of inflammation between 99 patients affected by dementia (mean age: 83.0+/-0.6 years) and 99 controls (mean age: 83.9+/-0.7 years). Then, we analyzed the relationship between inflammation and dementia in the same population composed by 34 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients (mean age: 83.4+/-0.8 years), 64 vascular dementia (VaD) patients (mean age: 82.7+0.8 years) and 99 controls. Patients affected by dementia had higher CRP levels than controls (2.6+/-+/-0.2 vs. 0.7 + 0.1 p < 0.001, respectively). AD patients had higher CRP levels than VaD patients (4.2 + 0.6 vs. 1.7+/-0.2, p < 0.001, respectively). Stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis showed that dementia (odds ratio=OR=4.965, 95% confidence interval=Cl=1.402-13.23, p=0.004), fibrinogen (OR=1.011, Cl=1.007-1.015, p<0.001), and age (OR=1.158, Cl=1.063-1.261, p<0.001) are independently correlated with high levels of CRP. The study suggests that inflammation may have a pathogenetic role in AD.
authors.affiliation: Division of Geriatric, S. John-Addolorata Hospital, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mancinella
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mancinella
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carpinteri
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bellomo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fossati
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gianturco
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iori
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ettorre
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Troisi
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Marigliano
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003704:Dementia / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein