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- Title
Vitamin B12 Levels in Alzheimer's Disease: Association with Clinical Features and Cytokine Production.
- Authors
Politis, Antonis; Olgiati, Paolo; Malitas, Petros; Albani, Diego; Signorini, Alessandra; Polito, Letizia; De Mauro, Stefania; Zisaki, Aikaterini; Piperi, Christina; Stamouli, Evangelia; Mailis, Antonis; Batelli, Sara; Forloni, Gianluigi; De Ronchi, Diana; Kalofoutis, Anastasios; Liappas, Ioannis; Serretti, Alessandro
- Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been associated with up-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., specific gene variants for TNF-α; IL-6; IFN-γ) and low plasma levels of cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12). Our goal was to relate B12 levels to AD symptoms and to expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Clinical manifestations were investigated for a case series of fifty-five outpatients using the MMSE, Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CDDS). Plasma B12 levels were measured by radioligand binding assay. Basal and PMA-stimulated levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-6 were measured by ELISPOT (PBMC culture supernatant). 47 patients were genotyped for APOE. Ten patients (18%) had their B12 levels below < 250 pg/ml. They did not statistically differ from those 45 who had normal levels in most demographic and clinical features; their MMSE scores were lower (14.7 vs 19.6 p=0.03) but not after adjustment for disease duration. A greater basal production of IL-6 was reported in patients who had low B12 levels compared to normal B12 subjects (1333 pg/ml vs 976 p< 0.01); this association was confirmed after controlling for age of onset and APOE genotype. In conclusion, low B12 level is associated with greater production of IL-6 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Further research is warranted to elucidate whether this neuroinflammatory effect of cobalamin is implicated in the pathophysiology of AD.
- Subjects
VITAMIN B12; ALZHEIMER'S disease; CYTOKINES; INFLAMMATION; CORRINOIDS
- Publication
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 2010, Vol 19, Issue 2, p481
- ISSN
1387-2877
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3233/JAD-2010-1252