Subcortical vascular dementia biomarker pattern in mild cognitive impairment.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an etiologically unclear disorder. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers are potentially useful for the differentiation between various MCI etiologies.

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess whether baseline CSF hyperphosphorylated tau (P-tau), total tau (T-tau), amyloid beta 1-42 (Abeta(42)) and neurofilament light (NF-L) in patients with MCI could predict subcortical vascular dementia (SVD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) at follow-up.

Methods: Biomarker levels were assessed by Luminex xMAP technology and ELISA.

Results: Increased baseline concentrations of NF-L significantly separated MCI-SVD from stable MCI. The MCI-SVD patients were inseparable from stable MCI but separable from patients developing AD (MCI-AD) on the basis of Abeta(42,) T-tau and P-tau(181) levels.

Conclusion: A combination of the biomarkers Abeta(42), T-tau, P-tau(181) and NF-L has the potential to improve the clinical separation of MCI-SVD patients from stable MCI and MCI-AD patients.