Levels of Proinflammatory Cytokines and Growth Factor VEGF in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Objective. To assess the levels of cytokines (IFN-α, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-15, TNF-α) and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), as well as the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its antagonist – soluble receptor (sVEGFR1) – in the serum of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) with early (EOAD) and late (LOAD) onset and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Materials and methods. Levels of cytokines, soluble IL-1β antagonist IL-1RA, VEGF, and sVEGFR1 were studied by ELISA in the blood of 20 patients with AD and 11 with MCI. The values obtained were related to the severity of cognitive impairments identified by neuropsychological investigations. Results and conclusions. Differences were found in the levels of the key inflammatory cytokines (IL-8, TNF-α, IL-12), VEGF, and sVEGFR1, as well as anti-inflammatory proteins in EOAD, LOAD, and MCI. These features are felt to provide evidence of the pheno- and genotypic variation in this disease, which requires further study.

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