Definition and quantification of six immune- and neuroregulatory serum proteins in healthy and demented elderly.

Blood-based biomarkers related to immune- and neuroregulatory processes may be indicative of dementia but lack standardization and proof-of-principle studies. The blood serum collection protocol as well as the analytic procedure to quantify the markers BDNF, IGF-1, VEGF, TGF-β 1, MCP-1 and IL-18 in blood serum were standardized and their concentrations were compared between groups of 81 Alzheimer's disease patients and 79 healthy controls. Applying standardized methods, results for the quantification of the six markers in blood serum are stable and their concentrations significantly differ for all analytes except VEGF between patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and healthy controls. Analyzing a panel of six markers in blood serum under standardized conditions may serve as a diagnostic tool in primary dementia care in the future.