Biomarkers

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Biomarker Discovery
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a leading cause of dementia, characterized by amyloid-beta plaques and tau tangles.
• Indonesia faces a high prevalence of AD, with current diagnostics being costly and invasive.
• The cuneus and precuneus regions are crucial for memory and visuospatial processing, often affected in AD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease.
• To assess the correlation between plasma pTau-181/Aβ-42 ratio and brain volume in the cuneus and precuneus.
• To explore a cost-effective and non-invasive diagnostic tool for AD in resource-limited settings.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 40 AD patients from three Indonesian hospitals.
• Measurement of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ42 and pTau-181 using ELISA.
• Volumetric MRI to analyze brain volumes and correlate with plasma biomarker ratios.

Main Results:

• Volumetric MRI showed specific mean volumes for the cuneus and precuneus regions.
• The plasma pTau-181/Aβ-42 ratio demonstrated significant correlations with volumetric changes in the right and left cuneus and the right precuneus (p<0.05).
• No significant correlation was found with the left precuneus (p>0.05).

Conclusions:

• The plasma pTau-181/Aβ-42 ratio is a potential non-invasive biomarker for AD.
• Significant correlations exist between this plasma ratio and brain volume reductions in critical cognitive areas.
• Plasma biomarkers offer a promising, cost-effective alternative to invasive CSF analysis for AD diagnosis in settings like Indonesia.