Imagine your brain is a complicated machine, with different parts that work together to keep everything running smoothly. Now imagine that one of those important parts, called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), can actually help protect against Alzheimer’s disease. That’s what scientists in China wanted to find out, so they studied a group of elderly people to see if there was a connection between their BDNF levels and Alzheimer’s. They found that in patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s, their BDNF levels were higher compared to those without the disease. However, in people with mild cognitive impairment, which is a stage before Alzheimer’s, their BDNF levels were lower. This suggests that BDNF might be involved in the progression of the disease. The scientists also looked at other factors that could influence BDNF levels, like age, education, occupation, and where the blood samples came from. They found that these factors did have an impact on BDNF levels. So while BDNF alone may not be a biomarker for early screening or diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, it could still be an important piece of the puzzle in understanding the disease better. To learn more about their research and the potential role of BDNF in Alzheimer’s, check out the full article!

ObjectiveTo explore the association of plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels with Alzheimer’s disease and its influencing factors.Materials and methodsA total of 1,615 participants were included in the present study. Among all subjects, 660 were cognitive normal controls (CNCs), 571 were mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, and 384 were dementia with Alzheimer’s type (DAT) patients. BDNF in blood samples collected from these subjects was analyzed via the Luminex assay. Additionally, DNA extraction and APOE4 genotyping were performed on leukocytes using a blood genotyping DNA extraction kit. All data were processed with SPSS 20.0 software. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) or analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to compare differences among groups on plasma BDNF. Pearson and Spearman correlation analysis examined the correlation between BDNF and cognitive impairment, and linear regression analysis examined the comprehensive effects of diagnosis, gender, age, education, and sample source on BDNF.ResultsBDNF levels in DAT patients were higher than those in CNC and MCI patients (P < 0.01). BDNF levels were significantly correlated with CDR, MMSE, and clinical diagnosis (P < 0.001). Age, education, occupation, and sample source had significant effects on BDNF differences among the CNC, MCI, and DAT groups (P < 0.001). BDNF first decreased and then increased with cognitive impairment in the ApoE4-negative group (P < 0.05).ConclusionPlasma BDNF levels decreased in the MCI stage and increased in the dementia stage and were affected by age, education, occupation, and sample source. Unless the effects of sample heterogeneity and methodological differences can be excluded, plasma BDNF is difficult to become a biomarker for the early screening and diagnosis of AD.

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