Biomarker Insights

Identifying biomarkers that distinguish Parkinson’s disease (PD) from normal control (NC) individuals has the potential to increase diagnostic sensitivity for the detection of early-stage PD. A previous proteomic study identified potential biomarkers in postmortem ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (V-CSF) from neuropathologically diagnosed PD subjects lacking Alzheimer’s disease (AD) neuropathology. In the present study, we assessed these biomarkers as well as p-tau181, Aβ42, and S100B by ELISA in PD (n = 43) and NC (n = 49) cases. The p-tau181/Aß42 ratio and ApoA-1 showed statistically significant differences between groups. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that p-tau181/Aβ42 had a significant odds ratio: OR = 1.42 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12–1.84), P = 0.006. Among the molecules investigated, intriguing correlations were observed that require further investigation. Our results suggest co-existent AD CSF biomarkers within the PD group notwithstanding that it was selected to minimize AD neuropathological lesions.