Association of Plasma Clusterin Concentration With Severity, Pathology, and Progression in Alzheimer Disease

Abstract

Peripheral compartments including blood and cerebrospinal fluid exhibit signals reflecting neuropathological changes in Alzheimer disease (AD).^1,2 In cerebrospinal fluid, these include a decrease in amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) and an increase in total and phosphorylated tau concentrations,³ reflecting amyloid sequestration as plaques and neurofibrillary degeneration, respectively.^4,5 Similarly, while numerous articles suggest that plasma concentrations of several metabolites and proteins might represent responses to neuropathological changes in AD,^6-11 these findings have not been conclusively replicated.¹² A limitation of such studies may be their reliance upon demonstrating changes between affected and unaffected people, a design of study that might identify secondary changes lacking relevance to core disease biology.