Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD
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Genome-wide serum microRNA expression profiling identifies serum biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease.
Recent findings that human serum contains stably expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) have revealed a great potential of serum miRNA signature as disease fingerprints to diagnosis. Here we used genome-wide serum miRNA expression analysis to investigate the value of serum miRNAs as biomarkers for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Illumina HiSeq 2000 sequencing followed by individual quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays was used to test the difference in levels of serum miRNAs between 50 AD patients and 50 controls in the screening stages. ⋯ Among the 6 miRNAs, miR-342-3p has the best sensitivity (81.5%) and specificity (70.1%) and was correlated to Mini-Mental State Examination score. This study identified six serum miRNAs that distinguish AD patients from healthy controls with high sensitivity and specificity. Serum miRNA panel (or miR-342-3p alone) may serve as a novel, noninvasive biomarker for AD.
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There is a need to seek new treatment(s) for Alzheimer's disease (AD). A recent study showed that AD patients may have decreased levels of functional GABA receptors. Propofol, a commonly used anesthetic, is a GABA receptor agonist. ⋯ Here we showed that the propofol treatment improved cognitive function and attenuated brain caspase-3 and caspase-9 activation in both aged WT and AD Tg mice. Propofol attenuated Aβ-induced caspase-3 activation and opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore in the cells, and flumazenil inhibited the propofol's effects. These results suggested that propofol might improve cognitive function via attenuating the Aβ-induced mitochondria dysfunction and caspase activation, which explored the potential that anesthetic propofol could improve cognitive function in elderly and AD patients.
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TREM2 has been reported to be associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we evaluated TREM2 mRNA and protein expressions in peripheral blood from AD patients and healthy controls. ⋯ According to ROC curve analysis, the diagnostic accuracy for TREM2 protein levels on monocytes was 70%, with the sensitivity and specificity 68% and 72%, respectively. Our results indicate that TREM2 might serve as a novel noninvasive biomarker for AD diagnosis.
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Cerebral hypometabolism of glucose, weight loss, and decreased food intake are characteristic features of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). A systematic study on the serum levels of adipokines and insulin, the major hormones regulating energy metabolism, food intake, and body weight, in sporadic AD is necessary. The present study compares the serum levels of leptin, adiponectin, and insulin, measured by commercially available immuno-assay kits, between controls and sporadic AD subjects. ⋯ The changes in the serum levels of adiponectin and insulin in AD are positively correlated with the severity of dementia. Likewise, the serum level of leptin in AD subjects is negatively correlated with the degree of dementia. The changes in the levels of adipokines and insulin have implications in the amyloid pathology, neurodegeneration, and hypometabolism of glucose existing in the AD brain.
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Scales of global cognition and behavior, often used as endpoints for intervention trials in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), are insufficiently responsive (i.e., relatively insensitive to change). Large patient samples are needed to detect beneficial drug effects. Therefore, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of cerebral atrophy have been proposed as surrogate endpoints. ⋯ Neuropsychological assessment is more responsive than MRI measures of brain atrophy for detecting disease progression in memory clinic patients with MCI or AD.