Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
Measuring plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) alongside cortical amyloid-? (A?) may shed light on astrocytic changes in aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD).Objective
To examine associations between plasma GFAP and cortical A? deposition in older adults across the typical aging-to-AD dementia spectrum.Methods
We studied two independent samples from UCSF (Cohort 1, N?=?50; Cohort 2, N?=?37) covering the spectra of clinical severity (CDR Sum of Boxes; CDR-SB) and A?-PET burden. A?-PET was completed with either florbetapir or Pittsburgh Compound B and standardized uptake value ratios were converted to the Centiloid (CL) scale for analyses. All participants with CDR-SB?>?0 were A?-PET positive, while clinically normal participants (CDR-SB?=?0) were a mix of A?-PET positive and negative. Regression analyses evaluated main effect and interaction associations between plasma GFAP, A?-PET, and clinical severity.Results
In both cohorts, plasma GFAP increased linearly with A?-PET CLs in clinically normal older adults. In Cohort 2, which included participants with more severe clinical dysfunction and A?-PET burden, the association between A? and GFAP became curvilinear (inverted U-shape; quadratic model R2 change?=?0.165, p?=?0.009), and A?-PET interacted with CDR-SB (R2 change?=?0.164, p?=?0.007): older adults with intermediate functional impairment (CDR-SB?=?0.5-4.0) showed a weak (negative) association between A?-PET CLs and plasma GFAP, while older adults with dementia (CDR-SB?>?4.0) showed a strong, negative association of higher A?-PET CLs with lower plasma GFAP.Conclusion
The relationship between astrocytic integrity and cortical A? may be highly dynamic, with linear, positive associations early in disease that diverge in more severe disease stages.
SUBMITTER: Asken BM
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7727314 | biostudies-literature | 2020
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Asken Breton M BM Elahi Fanny M FM La Joie Renaud R Strom Amelia A Staffaroni Adam M AM Lindbergh Cutter A CA Apple Alexandra C AC You Michelle M Weiner-Light Sophia S Brathaban Nivetha N Fernandes Nicole N Karydas Anna A Wang Paul P Rojas Julio C JC Boxer Adam L AL Miller Bruce L BL Rabinovici Gil D GD Kramer Joel H JH Casaletto Kaitlin B KB
Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD 20200101 1
<h4>Background</h4>Measuring plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) alongside cortical amyloid-β (Aβ) may shed light on astrocytic changes in aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD).<h4>Objective</h4>To examine associations between plasma GFAP and cortical Aβ deposition in older adults across the typical aging-to-AD dementia spectrum.<h4>Methods</h4>We studied two independent samples from UCSF (Cohort 1, N = 50; Cohort 2, N = 37) covering the spectra of clinical severity (CDR Sum of Boxes; CDR ...[more]