title: Decreased α-synuclein serum levels in patients with Lewy body dementia compared to Alzheimer's disease patients and control subjects.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Detection and differentiation of neurodegenerative dementias, such as dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), with blood-based biomarkers would facilitate diagnosis and treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  By use of a commercially available ELISA kit, we measured α-synuclein levels in the serum of 40 DLB patients and controls, and of 80 AD patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found significantly reduced α-synuclein serum levels in DLB compared to both AD (p = 0.006) and control subjects (p = 0.001), reaching an area under the curve of >0.70.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although these results do not justify a definition of serum α-synuclein as a potential single biomarker, results may contribute to a multimarker strategy in DLB diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Osianderstrasse 24, Tübingen, Germany. christoph.laske@med.uni-tuebingen.de
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Laske
authors.forename: Andreas J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Fallgatter
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stransky
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hagen
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Maetzler
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood*; D019540:Area Under Curve; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D051844:alpha-Synuclein