GLIAL FIBRILLARY ACIDIC PROTEIN IN THE CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID OF PATIENTS WITH DEMENTIA

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is the structural protein of th e astroglial intermediate filament that forms the morphological basis of astrogliosis. In the present study, GFAP concentrations in cerebros pinal fluid were measured in patients with various dementia diseases. A significant correlation between GFAP and age was found both in the t otal dementia group and in the controls. Covariance analysis with GFAP as dependent variable and age and albumin ratio as covariates followe d by multiple group comparisons showed that, with regard to GFAP level s, the controls (n = 39) differed significantly from the patients with vascular dementia (n = 20; p < 0.05), senile dementia of the Alzheime r type (n = 29; p < 0.05), and 'pure' Alzheimer's disease (n = 8; p < 0.05), but not from those with frontal lobe dementia (n = 5).