Serum sEPCR levels are elevated in patients with Alzheimer's disease

Blood-brain barrier impairment and endothelial cell dysfunction have both been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The presence of vascular risk factors is also known to increase the risk of AD. Soluble endothelial protein C receptor (sEPCR) should thus produce procoagulant and proinflammatory effects. Serum sEPCR levels have been found to be associated with several diseases. To date, no reports have been published regarding serum sEPCR levels in AD. In this study, we found that serum sEPCR levels were significantly increased in patients with AD when compared to control participants (P = .0005). There was no significant difference between patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy controls (P = .055) or between patients with AD and MCI (P = .054). Importantly, our results also indicate that the degree of cognitive impairment is significantly correlated with serum sEPCR levels in all patients and healthy controls. These findings suggest that serum sEPCR levels could be a potential candidate for a biomarker panel for AD diagnosis.