The Link Between C-Reactive Protein and Alzheimer's Disease Among Mexican Americans

Article type: Research Article

Authors: O'Bryant, Sid E.^{a; b; *} | Johnson, Leigh^{a; b} | Edwards, Melissa^{a; c} | Soares, Holly^d | Devous, Michael D.^e | Ross, Sarah^a | Rohlfing, Geoffrey^f | Hall, James^{b; g} | for the Texas Alzheimer's Research & Care Consortium¹

Affiliations: [a] University of North Texas Health Sciences Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Fort Worth, TX, USA | [b] University of North Texas Health Sciences Center, Institute for Aging & Alzheimer's Disease Research, Fort Worth, TX, USA | [c] University of North Texas, Department of Psychology, Denton, TX, USA | [d] Bristol-Myers Squib, Wallingford, CT, USA | [e] University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Dallas, TX, USA | [f] University of North Texas Health Science Center, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM), Fort Worth, TX, USA | [g] University of North Texas Health Sciences Center, Department of Psychiatry, Fort Worth, TX, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Sid E. O'Bryant, PhD, University of North Texas Health Sciences Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA. Tel.: +1 817 735 2963; E-mail: sid.o'bryant@unthsc.edu.

Note: [1] Investigators from the Texas Alzheimer’s Research and Care Consortium: Baylor College of Medicine: Rachelle Doody MD, PhD, Susan Rountree MD, Valory Pavlik PhD,Wen Chan PhD, Paul Massman PhD, Eveleen Darby, Tracy Evans RN, Aisha Khaleeq; Texas Tech University Health Science Center: Gregory Schrimsher, PhD, Andrew Dentino, MD, Ronnie Orozco; University of North Texas Health Science Center: Thomas Fairchild, PhD, Janice Knebl, DO, Robert C. Barber, PhD, Douglas Mains, Lisa Alvarez, Erin Braddock, Rosemary McCallum; University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center: Perrie Adams, PhD, Roger Rosenberg, MD, Myron Weiner, MD, Mary Quiceno, MD, Benjamin Williams, MD, Joan Reisch, PhD, Ryan Huebinger, PhD, Guanghua Xiao, PhD, Doris Svetlik, Amy Werry, Janet Smith; University of Texas Health Science Center – San Antonio: Donald Royall, MD, Raymond Palmer, PhD, Marsha Polk.

Abstract: Background:The aim of this study is to evaluate the link between C-reactive protein (CRP) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among Mexican Americans. Methods:Non-fasting serum CRP levels, Mini-Mental State Examination scores, and Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR) scores were analyzed from 1,066 participants (Mexican American n = 471; non-Hispanic n = 595) of the Texas Alzheimer’s Research & Care Consortium. Results:Among the total cohort, CRP levels among AD cases were significantly decreased as compared to normal controls (p < 0.001) and MCI cases (p = 0.002). CRP levels among MCI cases were decreased relative to controls (p = 0.03). Among Mexican American and non-Hispanic AD cases, CRP levels were significantly decreased among AD cases as compared to controls. CRP levels were only associated with disease severity (CDR scores) among non-Hispanics (p = 0.03) AD cases. Conclusions:These results show that while CRP levels are decreased among Mexican American AD cases, CRP does not appear to be related to clinical variables as it is among non-Hispanic whites.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, C-reactive protein, Mexican American, neuropsychology

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-122071

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 701-706, 2013