Anticardiolipin antibodies in two elderly subpopulations

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Gerontology
• Neurology

Background:

• Autoantibodies can be nonspecifically elevated in elderly individuals due to immunosenescence.
• Previous research suggested a general increase in autoantibodies with age.
• The specific prevalence of anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) in elderly subpopulations required further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) in healthy elderly, frail elderly, and frail elderly with dementia or stroke.
• To investigate the association between aCL and specific neurological conditions like multi-infarct dementia (MID) and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Main Methods:

• Prospective evaluation of 218 elderly subjects, divided into healthy (n=63) and frail (n=155) groups.
• Assessment of aCL prevalence in the overall frail group and subgroups with dementia and stroke.
• Further subdivision of dementia patients into MID and AD for specific aCL association analysis.

Main Results:

• No aCL detected in healthy elderly subjects (0%).
• Increased aCL prevalence in frail elderly (18.7%), with significantly higher rates in those with stroke (31.6%) and dementia (26.5%).
• Higher aCL association in multi-infarct dementia (44%) compared to Alzheimer's disease (20%), with a significant association for MID.

Conclusions:

• Anticardiolipin antibodies are not nonspecifically elevated in the elderly population.
• Significantly elevated aCL prevalence is associated with stroke and multi-infarct dementia in the elderly.
• aCL may serve as a potential biomarker for specific cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative conditions in older adults.