Biological psychiatry
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Biological psychiatry · Nov 2010
Multicenter StudyYKL-40: a novel prognostic fluid biomarker for preclinical Alzheimer's disease.
Disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) would be most effective during the preclinical stage (pathology present, cognition intact) before significant neuronal loss occurs. Therefore, biomarkers that detect AD pathology in its early stages and predict dementia onset and progression will be invaluable for patient care and efficient clinical trial design. ⋯ These data demonstrate that YKL-40, a putative indicator of neuroinflammation, is elevated in AD and, together with Aβ42, has potential prognostic utility as a biomarker for preclinical AD.
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Biological psychiatry · Nov 2010
Rapid cerebral amyloid binding by Aβ antibodies infused into β-amyloid precursor protein transgenic mice.
Passive immunization for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) was rapidly translated into clinical trials. However, basic mechanisms of AD immunotherapy remain only partially understood. ⋯ Rapid plasma Aβ increase after Aβ antibody infusion results primarily from stabilization of Aβ. Nevertheless, the smaller plasma Aβ increase in plaque-bearing mice might be of diagnostic use. Importantly, intravenously administered antibodies can rapidly bind to cerebral plaques, potentially facilitated by vascular-amyloid-mediated damage of the blood-brain barrier.