Analysis of Postmortem Ventricular Cerebrospinal Fluid from Patients with and without Dementia Indicates Association of Vitamin E with Neuritic Plaques and Specific Measures of Cognitive Performance

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Hensley, Kenneth^a | Barnes, Lisa L.^b | Christov, Alexandar^a | Tangney, Christy^c | Honer, William G.^d | Schneider, Julie A.^e | Bennett, David A.^f | Morris, Martha Clare^{g; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Pathology and Department of Neuroscience, University of Toledo Medical Center, Toledo, OH, USA | [b] Departments of Neurological Sciences and Behavioral Sciences, and Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA | [c] Department of Clinical Nutrition, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA | [d] Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada | [e] Departments of Pathology and Neurological Sciences, and Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA | [f] Department of Neurological Sciences and Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Chicago, IL, USA | [g] Section on Nutrition and Nutritional Epidemiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Martha Clare Morris, E-mail: Martha_C_Morris@rush.edu.

Abstract: Ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (vCSF) obtained at autopsy from 230 participants in the Religious Orders Study was analyzed for alpha tocopherol (αT, vitamin E) and gamma tocopherol (γT) in relation to brain tissue neuropathological diagnoses (NIA-Reagan criteria); neuritic plaque density and neurofibrillary tangle state (Braak stage); and cognitive function proximate to death. Neither vCSF αT nor γT was related to the pathological diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, but vCSF αT concentration was inversely related to neuritic plaque density (β = −0.21, SE = 0.105, p = 0.04) in regression models adjusted for age, gender, education, and APOE-4. Ventricular CSF αT concentration was positively associated with perceptual speed (β = 0.27, SE = 0.116, p = 0.02) whereas the γT/αT ratio was negatively associated with episodic memory (β = −0.037, SE = 0.017, p = 0.04). Only vCSF αT, but not γT, was correlated with postmortem interval (PMI). Adjustment for PMI had no effect on significance of associations between αT and perceptual speed or γT/αT and episodic memory, but after this adjustment the αT concentration was no longer significantly associated with neuritic plaques. These data suggest that vCSF αT, but not γT, is weakly associated with less Alzheimer's disease neuropathology, specifically neuritic plaques, and correlates with better performance on tests of perceptual speed.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, cerebrospinal fluid, Religious Orders Study, tocopherol, vitamin E

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2011-101995

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 767-774, 2011