engleski

Serum lipid levels in Alzheimer’ s disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex and multifactorial neurodegenerative disorder. The role of lipids in the etiology and progress of AD is still unclear. Some studies have found that high lipid levels could be a risk factor for the cognitive decline in AD, whereas others have shown no association or even protective effects of high lipid levels in the development of the AD. To determine serum total cholesterol, high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides (TG) levels in female patients with AD, subdivided according to the severity of disease, or the presence of psychotic features. The study included 50 female patients with AD (mean age ± ; SD, 79.3 ± ; 8.3 years, range 53-96 years), who met the diagnostic criteria of probable AD according to the NINDS-ADRDA, ICD-10 and DSM-IV-TR criteria. Cognitive impairment was evaluated using Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE), and psychotic features by means of Neuropsychiatry Inventory. Patients were subdivided according to the MMSE scores into two groups: 19 patients in the middle (MMSE 18-10) phase of AD and 31 patients in the late (MMSE 9-0) phase of AD. Psychotic and non-psychotic features were presented in 13 and 37 patients with AD, respectively. Serum lipid levels were determined by the enzymatic colour tests (total cholesterol, HDL-C, and TG), or by the enzymatic clearance assay (LDL-C). Patients in the late phase of AD had significantly lower serum total cholesterol (P<0.006, ANOVA) and LDL-C (P<0.024) levels than patients in the middle stage of AD. There was no significant (P>0.05) difference in serum HDL-C and TG levels, body mass index and age between patients with different severity of AD. The changes in serum total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C and TG levels were not related to the presence of psychotic features. The small but significant positive correlations were found between MMSE scores and total cholesterol (r= 0.348 ; P<0.01), or LDL-C (r= 0.291 ; P=0.04) levels in all AD patients. The results from our ongoing study support the presumption that lipid profile might be connected with the etiology and progress of AD. In addition, our results showed the association between low total cholesterol and LDL-C levels and cognitive decline in patients with AD, suggesting a protective effect of high lipid levels on cognition in patients with AD. Further studies are needed to confirm that lipid profile could be a biological marker for the progress of the AD.

serum lipid levels; Alzheimer’ s disease

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