title: The diagnostic utility of cerebrospinal fluid alpha-synuclein analysis in dementia with Lewy bodies - a systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) can be difficult to distinguish clinically from other dementias.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the diagnostic utility of CSF alpha-synuclein in differentiating between DLB and other dementias.
  
  
  METHODS
  Electronic databases were systematically searched for studies investigating reproducible alpha synuclein quantification methods. Random effects model was used to calculate weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals between DLB and other groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 13 studies, comprising 2728 patients were included. Mean CSF alpha-synuclein concentration was significantly lower in DLB patients compared to those with Alzheimers disease (AD) [WMD -0.24; 95% CI, -0.45, -0.03; p = 0.02]. No significant difference was found between patients with DLB compared to Parkinsons disease [WMD 0.05; 95% CI, -0.17, 0.28; p = 0.65] or other neurodegenerative conditions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CSF alpha synuclein may be of diagnostic use in differentiating between DLB and AD. We propose several recommendations to guide better design of future studies.
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, UK. X.Lim@sms.ed.ac.uk
authors.forename: Xuxin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Jing Ming
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Yeo
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Suvankar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000209:etiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017594:Publication Bias; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design; D055815:Young Adult; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
chemical_list: D051844:alpha-Synuclein
keywords: Alpha-synuclein; Biomarker; Cerebrospinal fluid; Dementia; Dementia with Lewy bodies