Affiliations: [a] Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden | [b] Department of Neurology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden | [c] Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden | [d] AstraZeneca R&D, Södertälje, Sweden | [e] Memory Clinic, M51, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden
Correspondence:
[*]
Correspondence to: Bob Olsson, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, University of Gothenburg. V-house, Sahlgrenska University Hospital Mölndal, 431 80 Mölndal, Sweden. Tel.: +46 31 343 24 06; Fax: +46 31 343 24 26; E-mail: bob.olsson@medic.gu.se.
Abstract: Microglia is thought to be important in Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the usefulness of the microglial marker chitotriosidase in clinical trials. Chitotriosidase was analyzed in cerebrospinal fluid from Alzheimer's disease patients on acetylcholine esterase inhibitors (AChEI) and in cerebrospinal fluid from multiple sclerosis patients before and after natalizumab treatment. Chitotriosidase activity was extremely stable during treatment with the non-inflammatory drug AChEI. However, the immunomodulatory treatment with natalizumab led to lower chitotriosidase activity. Thus, chitotriosidase may be useful in clinical trials where microglia is targeted or as a safety biomarker in other trials where the brain is a bystander organ.
