Some Levels of Alzheimer ’s Biomarkers May Differ Between African Americans, Whites

African-American individuals on average have lower levels of the tau protein compared with white individuals, reports astudy published today inJAMA Neurology. Tau, along with amyloid beta, are two proteins strongly associated with Alzheimer ’s disease (AD) and considered key biomarkers for diagnosing AD.“To our knowledge, our study is the first to examine racial differences in molecular biomarkers of AD in which the cohort contributed data for both amyloid concentrations as seen on PET scan and CSF [cerebrospinal fluid] concentrations of [amyloid and tau],” wrote lead author John C. Morris, M.D ., of the Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and colleagues. “Caution is needed in interpreting our results until they can be confirmed (or refuted) with subsequent analyses in larger cohorts to carefully explore the influences of soci oeconomic status, comorbid diseases, and other factors that may contribute to racial differences.”Morris and colleagues analyzed data from 1,255 adults who were participating in Alzheimer ’s studies at the Knight Research Center; this sample included 173 African Americans. As part of these studies, the participants received brain scans and CSF samples were taken to assess for Alzheimer’s biomarkers. In both African-American and white participants, about two-thirds of individuals had normal cognition while the other one-third had Alzheimer’s or some other cognitive impairment.T...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: African Americans Alzheimer's disease amyloid beta APOE ε4 biomarkers cerebrospinal fluid. John C. Morris JAMA Neurology Lisa Barnes minorities race tau Source Type: research