Circulating inflammatory biomarkers associated with cognitive function and dementia

Inflammation is associated with cognitive decline and the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, although exact pathways remain elusive.  To further explore the role of inflammation, we utilised the Olink proteomics inflammation panel to examine associations with cross-sectional cognitive testing domain scores (Executive Function, Language, Memory and Visuospatial) and incident dementia and Alzheimer's disease in a subset of participants in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort who were aged >40 years and dementia-free at Exam 7 (1998-2001). Apolipoprotein (APOE) genotype-stratified analyses were performed to explore effect modification.  Several circulating inflammatory proteins have been shown to associate with cognitive domain scores. Stratified analyses suggested differences in protein effects between APOE ε2 and ε4 carriers, with most ε4 carrier associations with the executive function and memory domains and most ε2 associations with the visuospatial domain. Higher levels of TNFB and CDCP1 were associated with an increased risk of incident all-cause and AD dementia.

 

Learning Objectives