title: Increased tissue factor pathway inhibitor and homocysteine in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: We investigated the possible involvement of vascular damage in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), by assessment of plasma levels of tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), a serine protease inhibitor induced by endothelial injury, and homocysteine (Hcy), a known risk factor for cerebrovascular disorders, folate levels were also measured. 110 probable AD, 38 mild cognitive impairment, 31 patients affected by idiopathic Parkinson's disease (without dementia) and 100 healthy controls, who displayed no vascular disorders were enrolled. TFPI and Hcy were significantly higher in AD patients with respect to other groups. The levels of TFPI and Hcy were positively correlated in hyperhomocysteinemic AD and mild cognitive impairment subjects, and were negatively correlated with folate levels. Our findings suggest that an impairment of endothelial function associated with high Hcy levels may occur in AD patients, despite the absence of manifest cerebrovascular lesions. Therefore, TFPI may represent a candidate marker of endothelial damage in AD and might be used for the identification and monitoring of patients that would benefit from folate supplementation treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Technologies, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza (MI), Italy. fabrizio.piazza@unimib.it
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Piazza
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Galimberti
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Conti
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Isella
authors.forename: Maria V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Perlangeli
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Speranza
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Borroni
authors.forename: Enrico M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Pogliani
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Padovani
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ferrarese
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D008074:Lipoproteins; C051928:lipoprotein-associated coagulation inhibitor; D006710:Homocysteine