Plasma S100β is a predictor for pathology and cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Blood-brain barrier dysfunction is one characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is recognized as both a cause and consequence of the pathological cascade leading to cognitive decline. The goal of this study was to assess markers for barrier dysfunction in postmortem tissue samples from research participants who were either cognitively normal individuals (CNI) or diagnosed with AD at the time of autopsy and determine to what extent these markers are associated with AD neuropathologic changes (ADNC) and cognitive impairment.

Methods: We used postmortem brain tissue and plasma samples from 19 participants: 9 CNI and 10 AD dementia patients who had come to autopsy from the University of Kentucky AD Research Center (UK-ADRC) community-based cohort; all cases with dementia had confirmed severe ADNC.

Biomarkers.

Background: A key characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is cerebral aggregation of tau. These aggregates can be quantified and localized with positron emission tomography (PET), which improves the diagnostic and prognostic work-up of AD. However, tau-PET is expensive and not available in clinical settings globally.

Biomarkers.

Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteomics allows for characterization of multiple disease-related biological processes in vivo. These processes likely occur along temporal cascades mirroring disease evolution. This study describes interindividual variation in these cascades, in the context of Alzheimer's disease.

Biomarkers.

Background: Tau-PET imaging allows in-vivo detection of neurofibrillary tangles. One tau-PET tracer (i.e.