Objective: The aim of the study was to assess diagnostic accuracy of a AD test based on total tau protein concentration in the CSF.
Design: Measurement of CSF/total tau can be a valid diagnostic test for distingushing AD from Vascular dementia (VD)
Materials and Methods: In total 102 persons were included in the study: 58 AD patients, 24 patients with VD and 20 nondemented patients as the control. Cerebrospinalis fluid was collected from all the patients by the way of a routine lumbar puncture. The level of tau protein was determined by the sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) evolved by Vondermeer et al.
Results: Tau protein concentration in the group with Alzheimer type dementia (median 385.6 pg/ml) was higher than in vascular dementia group (median 101.2 pg/ml), and in control group (median:1.37 pg/ml). The differences were statistically significant. The cutoff value of 150 pg/ml distinguished AD from VD group with sensivity 79.2% and specifity 79.3%.
Conclusion: The lower concentration of CSF/total tau in the early stages of AD, and its progressive growth correlate with the progression of the disease, may be a useful biochemical test for monitoring of the development of the disease.
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