Blood biomarkers in mild cognitive impairment patients: Relationship between analytes and progression to Alzheimer disease dementia

Background and purpose Blood‐based biomarkers are promising tools for the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD) at prodromal stages (mild cognitive impairment [MCI]) and are hoped to be implemented as screening tools for patients with cognitive complaints. In this work, we evaluated the potential of peripheral neurological biomarkers to predict progression to AD dementia and the relation between blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD markers in MCI patients referred from a general neurological department. Methods A group of 106 MCI patients followed at the Neurology Department of Coimbra University Hospital was included. Data regarding baseline neuropsychological evaluation, CSF levels of amyloid β 42 (Aβ42), Aβ40, total tau (t‐Tau), and phosphorylated tau 181 (p‐Tau181) were available for all the patients. Aβ42, Aβ40, t‐Tau, p‐Tau181, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels were determined in baseline stored serum and plasma samples by commercial SiMoA (Single Molecule Array) assays. Progression from MCI to AD dementia was assessed at follow‐up (mean = 5.8 ± 3.4 years). Results At baseline, blood markers NfL, GFAP, and p‐Tau181 were significantly increased in patients who progressed to AD at follow‐up (p