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Updated: Jun 4, 2026
An Improved Method for Collection of Cerebrospinal Fluid from Anesthetized Mice
Published on: March 19, 2018
Non-linear relationships of cerebrospinal fluid biomarker levels with cognitive function: an observational study
Jonathan H Williams1, Gordon K Wilcock, Jeffrey Seeburger
1OPTIMA, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK. drjhw@live.co.uk.
Introduction:
Levels of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) β-amyloid (Aβ) and Tau proteins change in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We tested if the relationships of these biomarkers with cognitive impairment are linear or non-linear.
Methods:
We assessed cognitive function and assayed CSF Aβ and Tau biomarkers in 95 non-demented volunteers and 97 AD patients. We then tested non-linearities in their inter-relations.
Results:
CSF biomarkers related to cognitive function in the non-demented range of cognition, but these relations were weak or absent in the patient range; Aβ1-40's relationship was biphasic.
Conclusions:
Major biomarker changes precede clinical AD and index cognitive impairment in AD poorly, if at all.
