AI Article Synopsis

  • - The study investigates how certain plasma microRNAs (miRNAs) relate to the rate of cognitive decline in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD), focusing specifically on the link between synaptic deficits and cognitive impairment.
  • - Researchers analyzed 754 plasma miRNAs in 19 women with mild AD and divided them based on their cognitive decline as measured by the MMSE score over two years.
  • - They found that miR-342-5p was linked to faster cognitive decline, with lower levels of this miRNA in patients who experienced more significant cognitive impairment after two years.

Article Abstract

Background: Progressive cognitive decline is the most relevant clinical symptom of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the rate of cognitive decline is highly variable between patients. Synaptic deficits are the neuropathological event most correlated with cognitive impairment in AD. Considering the important role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in regulating synaptic plasticity, our objective was to identify the plasma miRNAs associated with the rate of cognitive decline in patients with mild AD.

Methods: We analyzed 754 plasma miRNAs from 19 women diagnosed with mild AD using TaqMan low-density array cards. The patients were grouped based on the rate of decline in the MMSE score after 2 years [<4 points ( = 11) and ≥4 points ( = 8)]. The differentially expressed miRNAs between the two groups were validated in an independent cohort of men and women ( = 53) with mild AD using RT-qPCR.

Results: In the discovery cohort, 17 miRNAs were differentially expressed according to the fold change between patients with faster declines in cognition and those with slower declines. miR-342-5p demonstrated differential expression between the groups and a good correlation with the rate of cognitive decline in the validation cohort ( = -0.28; = 0.026). This miRNA had a lower expression level in patients who suffered from more severe decline than in those who were cognitively more stable after 2 years ( = 0.049).

Conclusion: Lower levels of miR-342-5p in plasma were associated with faster cognitive decline in patients with mild AD after 2 years of follow-up.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8421031PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2021.705989DOI Listing

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