• Francisco L Ramírez-Cuapio, Mónica A Torres-Ramos, Marisol Orozco-Ibarra, Isaac Acosta, and Ana L Sosa-Ortiz.
• Dementia Laboratory, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía Manuel Velasco Suárez (INNNMVS), Mexico City; Master's Program in Chemical-Biological Sciences, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico.
• Rev Invest Clin. 2020 May 7; 73 (1): 017-022.

BackgroundDecreased levels of repressor element-1 silencing transcription (REST) factor in the brain, plasma, and neuronderived exosomes are associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD).ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to test the viability of serum REST as a possible blood-based biomarker for AD, comparing serum REST levels in AD patients from a National Institute of Health in Mexico City (with different levels of severity and comorbidities), with elderly controls (EC) and young controls (YC).MethodsWe used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to determine serum REST levels in AD patients (n = 28), EC (n = 19), and YC (n = 24); the AD patients were classified by dementia severity and comorbidities (depression and microangiopathy) using clinimetric tests and magnetic resonance imaging.ResultsMean serum REST levels did not differ between AD patients, EC, and YC. The severity of AD and the presence of depression or microangiopathy were not associated with serum REST levels.ConclusionOur results differ from previously published patterns found for plasma and cerebral REST levels. Free serum REST levels may not be a viable AD blood-based biomarker.

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