INCREASED PLASMA-CONCENTRATION OF SERUM AMYLOID-P COMPONENT IN CENTENARIANS WITH IMPAIRED COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE

Serum amyloid P component (SAP) binds to all amyloid fibrils including those in the plaques and tangles of Alzheimer patients. To investigat e whether the plasma SAP concentration correlated to cognitive impairm ent, we measured SAP levels in blood samples from 41 centenarians and compared these to the cognitive performance evaluated by Mini Mental S tate Examination (MMSE). We observed a significantly (p < 0.001) incre ased SAP concentration (48.3 +/- 16.9 mu g/ml; mean +/- SD) in the cen tenarians compared to gender-matched controls (32.8 +/- 11.4 mu g/ml). Six severely demented centenarians had an even higher SAP concentrati on (60.2 mu g/ml), while the subgroup of cognitive intact centenarians (MMSE score > 24) showed a normal SAP concentration (38.4 +/- 9.3 mu g/ml). No dehydration or hepatic dysfunction was demonstrable in the c entenarians. We conclude that the centenarians with impaired cognitive performance had significantly increased plasma concentrations of SAP, while the values for cognitive intact centenarians were within the no rmal range.