The Association of Blood-Based Inflammatory Factors IL-1β, TGF-β and CRP with Cognitive Function in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Objective Many patients suffer from dementia in its most common form, Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, the levels of IL-1 beta TGF-beta and CRP, which are involved in the inflammatory response in Alzheimer's disease and its mild cognitive impairment (MCI), were measured and analyzed. Methods Seventy nine subjects participated in this study (mean age: 75.56 years, female: 54.3%, AD: 26, MCI: 28, normal: 25). The overall cognitive function of the subjects and the severity of the disease stage were assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-K), the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) and the Geriatric Depression Scale-Korean (GDS-K). Results It was observed that patients with AD had significantly higher levels of IL-1 beta and TGE-beta than the patients with MCI and normal controls. In addition, the MCI group showed a statistically significantly higher TGF-beta concentration than the normal group. Conclusion These results suggest that IL-1 beta and TGF-beta may be useful biological markers for patients wit h Alzheimer's disease.