Dementia and antiphospholipid antibodies

Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLAb) may cause both focal ischemic and diffu se brain damage and may be associated with dementia, We have examined the r elationship of aPLAb to dementia in the elderly. Blood samples were obtaine d from 87 consecutive patients with dementia (74 +/- 11 years old) and 69 c ontrols (78 +/- 9 years old), residents of an old age home who were not ove rtly demented. Levels of aPLAb were measured by a standardized ELISA, utili zing cardiolipin as antigen, and we considered levels above 20 IgG antiphos pholipid units (GPLU) as significantly elevated. We found that 5 of the 87 demented patients (6%), but none of the 69 controls, had significantly elev ated aPLAb levels (p = 0.03, one-tailed Fisher's exact test). All the patie nts with high aPLAb levels were diagnosed clinically as having dementia of the Alzheimer type, except for 1 who had mixed dementia, and none had featu res of an immune-mediated disease. Thus, a small but significant number of patients with dementia have high levels of aPLAb. The role of the aPLAb in these patients, with apparently diffuse brain disease, is currently unknown . Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.