Increased Protein-conjugated Acrolein and Amyloid-β40/42 Ratio in Plasma of Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease

The objective of this study was to determine whether plasma levels of acrolein, a compound that causes cell damage, and amyloid-β (Aβ) are useful biochemical markers for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study included 221 elderly subjects divided into 101 non-demented [33 healthy control and 68 non-demented subjects with white matter hyperintensity (nd-WMH)], 50 mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 70 AD. Increases in both protein-conjugated acrolein (PC-Acro) and Aβ40/42 ratio were observed in MCI and AD patients compared with values in control subjects. When the combined measurements of PC-Acro and Aβ40/42 ratio were evaluated using the median value of the relative risk value for dementia, they were in the order AD (0.98) ≥ MCI (0.97) > nd-WMH (0.83) > control (0.35). The results indicate that measurements of PC-Acro and Aβ40/42 ratio not only detect MCI and AD patients but also nd-WMH subjects. Furthermore, both PC-Acro and Aβ40/42 ratio in plasma for 120 MCI and AD patients were significantly higher than those for 101 control and nd-WMH subjects, indicating that both values become useful biochemical markers for MCI and AD subjects.