Inflammatory Marker Linked to Dementia

A study in Neurology associated an inflammatory marker with brain atrophy, cognitive decline, and dementia, reports Medical Xpress . The researchers examined more than 4,700 participants from two large community-based heart studies, and found higher levels of sCD14 were connected to markers of brain aging and injury, like total brain atrophy and a decline in executive functioning. "Cost-effective, blood based biomarkers are greatly needed to detect and track the progression of preclinical brain injury predisposing to dementia," noted the researchers. "Such biomarkers could also act as endpoints in clinical trials of disease-modifying interventions and expand our understanding of disease biology." There are currently no drug trials to see if reducing sCD14 levels would improve cognition in humans, but treatment with several targeted anti-inflammatory medications — such as statins — can lower sCD14. "There is a growing recognition of the role of inflammation in neurodegeneration and vascular injury-related cognitive decline and dementia," said University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Professor Sudha Seshadri.