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Updated: Jun 23, 2025
A Simple Bioassay for the Evaluation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors
Published on: March 15, 2016
Vascular endothelial growth factor is an effective biomarker for vascular dementia, not for Alzheimer's disease: A
Ling-Zhi Xu1,2,3,4,5, Fang-Yu Li1,2,3,4,5, Jin Xu6
1Innovation Center for Neurological Disorders and Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases Capital Medical University Beijing China.
Introduction:
Vascular pathology is known to contribute to dementia and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a well-established biomarker associated with vascular alterations. Nonetheless, research findings on VEGF in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) are inconsistent across various studies.
Methods:
We conducted a meta-analysis to elucidate relationships between VEGF and AD/VaD.
Results:
Twenty-four studies were included. Pooled data showed that both blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) VEGF levels were higher in VaD patients, whereas no significant difference was found between AD patients and healthy controls. However, the correlation between blood VEGF and AD was found among studies with AD pathology verification. And blood VEGF levels were higher in AD patients than controls in "age difference < 5 years" subgroup and CSF samples for European cohorts.
Discussion:
This study highlights that VEGF is more effective for the diagnosis of VaD and vascular factors are also an important contributor in AD.
Highlights:
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels were higher in the vascular dementia group, but not in the overall Alzheimer's disease (AD) group.Correlation between VEGF and AD was found among studies with clear AD pathological verification.Elevated VEGF in the cerebrospinal fluid might be a diagnostic marker for AD in European populations.
