Alzheimer disease: CSF biomarkers could be used in Aβ immunotherapy trials for AD

摘要

The core cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of Alzheimer disease (AD) -amyloid-beta(Abeta), total tau (t-tau) and phosphorylated tau (p-tau)-have been considered for use as biomarkers in clinical trials to monitor the therapeutic effects of drugs, but clinical data on their suitability for this function has been limited. In a study published in Archives of Neurology, Kaj Blennow and colleagues now show that immunotherapy with the Abeta-specific monoclonal antibody bapineuzumab reduces CSF t-tau and p-tau biomarker levels in patients with mild to moderate AD. "These findings suggest that [bapineuzumab] attenuates the intensity of the neurodegenerative process [in patients with AD]" says Blennow.In two phase II, multicentre, double-blind trials, 46 patients were randomly assigned to receive bapineuzumab (n=27) or placebo (n = 19) for 12 months. CSF samples were collected by lumbar puncture,and the levels of t-tau, p-tau and Abeta were measured with ELISA at baseline and at the end of the study.