Tejal K Vedak, Vaishali Ganwir, Arun B Shah, Charles Pinto, Vikram R Lele, Alka Subramanyam, Hina Shah and Sudha S Deo
Background: Worldwide prevalence of dementia is growing rapidly. Epidemiology of dementia consists of both the modifiable as well as non-modifiable risk factors and there is a dearth of knowledge about use of these as early diagnostic biomarkers. Hence our study aimed at assessment of these risk factors which can be used as promising biomarkers for early diagnosis of dementia.
Methods: The study population consisted of patients with Dementia (n=33), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI; n=30) and elderly age-matched Controls (n=30). All the participants were subjected to medical history, psychological, clinical and biochemical evaluations, serum biomarker estimations like vitamin B12, Folic acid and homocysteine and genetic studies which included gene expression and polymorphism of APOE and MTHFR genes.
Findings and conclusion: Our study showed significant difference in various biomarkers including modifiable metabolic factors (serum levels of vitamin B12, folic acid and homocysteine) and non-modifiable genetic factors (APOE & MTHFR) across the three study groups. Thus, if validated at early stages of ageing or before start of cognitive decline, together these biomarkers and Psychological assessment will help in early diagnosis of dementia risk.
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