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Preservation of brain nerve growth factor in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease
Elliott J Mufson1, Milos D Ikonomovic, Scot D Styren
1Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush Presbyterian-St Luke's Medical Center, 2242 W. Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. emufson@rush.edu
Background:
The status of nerve growth factor (NGF) levels during the prodromal phase of Alzheimer disease (AD), characterized by mild cognitive impairment (MCI), remains unknown.
Objective:
To investigate whether cortical and/or hippocampal NGF levels are altered in subjects with MCI or different levels of AD severity.
Design And Main Outcome Measures:
An NGF enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay determined protein levels in the hippocampus and 5 cortical areas in people clinically diagnosed as having no cognitive impairment, MCI, mild AD, or severe AD.
Setting And Patients:
Subjects were from the Rush Religious Orders Study and the University of Pittsburgh Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (Pittsburgh, Pa).
Results:
We found no changes in cortical or hippocampal NGF levels across groups; in MCI, levels did not correlate with an increase in choline acetyltransferase activity in these regions.
Conclusion:
Brain NGF levels appear sufficient to support the cholinergic plasticity changes seen in MCI and remain stable throughout the disease course.
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