Association of plasma biomarkers with cognitive function in persons with dementia and cognitively healthy in the Democratic Republic of Congo

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Jean N. Ikanga, Emory University; Saranya Patel, Emory University; Blaine Russell Roberts, Emory University; Megan Schwinne, Emory University; Sabrina Hickle, Emory University; Inge M.W. Verberk, Amsterdam University; Emmanuel Epenge, University of Kinshasa; Guy Gikelekele, Unviersity of Kinshasa; Nathan Tshengele, University of Kinshasa; Immaculee Kavugho, Memory Clinic of Kinshasa; Samuel Mampunza, University of Kinshasa; Kevin E. Yarasheski, C2N Diagnostics; Charlotte E. Teunissen, Amsterdam University; Anthony Stringer, Emory University; Allan I Levey, Emory University; Alvaro Alonso, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-11-08
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2023 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12496
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Alzheimer's and Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Disease Monitoring
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: e12496
• Grant/Funding Information: The Emory Goizueta Alzheimer's disease Research Center (ADRC) was supported by NIH/NIA grant P30AG066511. Research of C.E.T. is supported by the European Commission (Marie Curie International Training Network, grant agreement No 860197 (MIRIADE), Innovative Medicines Initiatives 3TR (Horizon 2020, grant no 831434) EPND ( IMI 2 Joint Undertaking (JU), grant No. 101034344) and JPND (bPRIDE), National MS Society (Progressive MS alliance), Alzheimer Association, Health Holland, the Dutch Research Council (ZonMW), Alzheimer Drug Discovery Foundation, The Selfridges Group Foundation, Alzheimer Netherlands. CT is recipient of ABOARD, which is a public‐private partnership receiving funding from ZonMW (#73305095007) and Health∼Holland, Topsector Life Sciences & Health (PPP‐allowance; #LSHM20106). C.E.T. has a collaboration contract with ADx Neurosciences, Quanterix and Eli Lilly, performed contract research or received grants from AC‐Immune, Axon Neurosciences, BioConnect, Bioorchestra, Brainstorm Therapeutics, Celgene, EIP Pharma, Eisai, Fujirebio, Grifols, Instant Nano Biosensors, Merck, Novo Nordisk, PeopleBio, Roche, Siemens, Toyama, Vivoryon.
• Keywords: apolipoprotein E; plasma biomarkers; African Neuropsychology Battery
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Biology, Neuroscience

Abstract

Introduction This study investigates whether plasma biomarkers (Aβ42/40 and p‐tau 181), APS, as well as apolipoprotein E (APOE) proteotype predict cognitive deficits in elderly adults from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Methods Forty‐four with possible AD (pAD) and 41 healthy control (HC) subjects were screened using CSID and AQ, underwent cognitive assessment with the African Neuropsychology Battery (ANB), and provided blood samples for plasma Aβ42, Aβ40, Aβ42/40, and APOE proteotype. Linear and logistic regression were used to evaluate the associations of plasma biomarkers with ANB tests and the ability of biomarkers to predict cognitive status. Results Patients with pAD had significantly lower plasma Aβ42/40 levels, higher APS, and higher prevalence of APOE E4 allele compared to HC. Groups did not differ in levels of Aβ40, Aβ42, or P‐tau 181. Results showed that Aβ42/40 ratio and APS were significantly associated with African Naming Test (ANT), African List Memory Test (ALMT), and African Visuospatial Memory Test (AVMT) scores, while the presence of APOE E4 allele was associated with ANT, ALMT, AVMT, and APT scores. P‐tau 181 did not show any significant associations while adjusting for age, education, and gender. APS showed the highest area under the curve (AUC) value (AUC = 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.68–0.88) followed by Aβ42/40 (AUC = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.66–0.86) and APOE E4 (AUC = 0.69 (CI 0.57–0.81) in discriminating pAD from HC. Discussion These results demonstrate associations between select plasma biomarker of AD pathology (Aβ42/40), APS, and APOE E4 allele) and ANB test scores and the ability of these biomarkers to differentiate pAD from cognitively normal SSA individuals, consistent with findings reported in other settings.