Increased apolipoprotein B serum concentration in Alzheimer's disease

Objective - To investigate the lipoprotein profile in a group of Alzheimer' s disease (AD) patients. Patients and methods - Twenty-four patients with A D and 32 elderly controls were evaluated. Fasting blood samples were obtain ed for determination of total VLDL, HDL and LDL cholesterol, lipoprotein (a ), triglycerides, apolipoprotein Al and apolipoprotein B. Results - Signifi cantly higher levels of apolipoprotein B were found in AD patients (P=0.004 ), whereas the concentration of lipoprotein (a) and plasma lipids was not s tatistically different. Apo B levels were similar between AD patients with or without leukoaraiosis on CT scan. Conclusion - AD patients had high seru m concentration of apolipoprotein B. This finding suggests that apolipoprot ein E may not be the single factor in lipid metabolism to play a role in AD pathogenesis.