title: The amyloid-β oligomer count in cerebrospinal fluid is a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Recent studies indicate that small amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) oligomers are the major toxic species responsible for development and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Therefore, we suggest that the number of Aβ oligomers in body fluids is the most direct and relevant biomarker for AD. Determination of the Aβ oligomer content of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 14 AD patients and 12 age-matched controls revealed a clear distinction between both groups. All samples of the control group showed homogenously low numbers of Aβ oligomers, while the samples of the AD group exhibited significantly higher levels of Aβ oligomers. The Aβ oligomer numbers correlated with the patients' Mini-Mental State Examination scores. This indicates that the quantity of Aβ oligomers in CSF reflects the severity of the disease and that Aβ oligomers play a crucial role in AD pathology and in turn can be used as a diagnostic biomarker.
authors: Institute of Complex Systems, ICS-6: Structural Biochemistry, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
authors: Lei
authors: L
authors: Wang-Dietrich
authors: Susanne Aileen
authors: SA
authors: Funke
authors: Katja
authors: K
authors: Kühbach
authors: Kun
authors: K
authors: Wang
authors: Astrid
authors: A
authors: Besmehn
authors: Sabine
authors: S
authors: Willbold
authors: Yeliz
authors: Y
authors: Cinar
authors: Oliver
authors: O
authors: Bannach
authors: Eva
authors: E
authors: Birkmann
authors: Dieter
authors: D
authors: Willbold
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000175:diagnosis; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D015415:Biomarkers