Serum Hepcidin Levels, Iron Dyshomeostasis and Cognitive Loss in Alzheimer's Disease.

This pilot study examined the status of the master iron regulatory peptide, hepcidin, and peripheral related iron parameters in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment patients, and evaluated the relationship between iron dyshomeostasis and amyloid-beta (Aß), cognitive assessment tests, neuroimaging and clinical data. Frozen serum samples from the Oregon Tissue Bank were used to measure serum levels of hepcidin, ferritin, Aß40, Aß42 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum transferrin levels were determined indirectly as total iron binding capacity, serum iron was measured and the percent saturation of transferrin calculated. The study variables were correlated with the patients' existing cognitive assessment tests, neuroimaging, and clinical data. Hepcidin, and iron-related proteins tended to be higher in AD patients than controls, reaching statistical significance for ferritin, whereas Aß40, Aß42 serum levels tended to be lower. Patients with pure AD had three times higher serum hepcidin levels than controls; gender differences in hepcidin and iron-related proteins were observed. Patient stratification based on clinical dementia rating-sum of boxes revealed significantly higher levels of iron and iron-related proteins in AD patients in the upper 50% as compared to controls, suggesting that iron dyshomeostasis worsens as cognitive impairment increases. Unlike Aß peptides, iron and iron-related proteins showed significant association with cognitive assessment tests, neuroimaging, and clinical data. Hepcidin and iron-related proteins comprise a group of serum biomarkers that relate to AD diagnosis and AD disease progression. Future studies should determine whether strategies targeted to diminishing hepcidin synthesis/secretion and improving iron homeostasis could have a beneficial impact on AD progression.

Serial position effects in mild cognitive impairment.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is often associated with the preclinical phase of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Special scoring of word-list recall data for serial position has been suggested to improve discrimination of normal aging from dementia. We examined serial position effects in word-list recall for MCI participants compared to Alzheimer patients and controls. Individuals with MCI, like Alzheimer patients, had a diminished primacy effect in recalling words from a list. No alternative scoring system was better than standard scoring of word-list recall in distinguishing MCI patients from controls. Retention weighted scoring improved the discrimination of MCI and AD groups.