Correlation between Cerebrospinal Fluid Core Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers and β‑Amyloid PET in Chinese Dementia Population

The current diagnoses of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)
mainly rely on such measures as amyloid-β (Aβ) a n d t a u
neuropathology biomarkers in vivo via cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
and positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, which had been
systematically studied in Caucasian individuals, whereas diagnostic
performances of these approaches in Chinese dementia population
still remain unclear. This study investigated the associations between
the levels of CSF core AD biomarkers, including phosphorylated tau
(p-Tau181), total tau (t-Tau), Aβ42, and Aβ40 measured by the
single-molecule array (Simoa) and cerebral Aβ deposition status
assessed by 18F-Florbetapir PET (Aβ PET), and evaluated the
predictive values of CSF core AD biomarkers in discriminating Aβ
PET status in a clinical dementia cohort of the Chinese population,
which consisted of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI),
AD dementia, and non-Alzheimer’s dementia disease (Non-ADD). Global standard uptake value ratios (SUVRs) were calculated by
Aβ PET, which was divided into positive (Aβ+) and negative (Aβ−) through visual analysis. CSF p-Tau181 and p-Tau181/t-Tau
ratio were positively correlated with the global SUVR, while CSF Aβ42 and Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio were negatively correlated with the
global SUVR. CSF Aβ40 has the highest predictive value in discriminating the MCI group from the AD group, while CSF p-Tau181
was applied to discriminate the AD group from the non-ADD group. CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio, as the optimal predictive factor, was
combined with APOE ε4 status rather than age and education, which could improve the predictive ability in differentiating the Aβ+
group from the Aβ− group. The results reveal the universal applicability of CSF core AD biomarkers and Aβ PET imaging in
Chinese dementia population, which is helpful in clinical practice and drug trials in China.