Inflammatory Marker Could Be Early Warning for Dementia

A study in Neurology found a blood plasma associated with inflammation could be an early warning signal for certain types of dementia, reports Medical News Today . The researchers explored the connection between sCD14, an inflammatory marker in blood, and incident dementia. "In addition to biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease i.e., amyloid and tau, biomarkers of inflammation and neuronal injury may help improve the prediction of clinical dementia," suggested Matthew Pase with the Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health. The researchers were particularly intrigued by the potential to assess dementia risk in advance by using cost-effective blood-based biomarkers to clear a path for intervention ahead of disease development. The team examined more than 4,700 participants from two community studies: the average age in one study was 69, and 72 in the other. The researchers quantified the plasma sCD14 in participants' blood upfront in both studies, and performed brain magnetic resonance imaging scans to assess the subjects over time. Higher sCD14 concentrations were associated with brain injury and aging, along with cognitive decline. "As we measured sCD14 in blood, it would be of interest to examine the extent to which blood sCD14 mirrors inflammation in the brain," Pase said.