Biomarkers

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ResearchersAgainstAlzheimer's would like to thank Roche Diagnostics for their support of this project.
Return to the full list of Biomarkers

Ceramides

Method of Measurement (Pre-analytical Tools)
Blood/Plasma
Biomarker Measured
Inflammation
Use
Diagnostic
Stage of Development
Clinical trials
Active vs Completed Trials
Completed
Aim/Results

Serum levels of ceramides are higher in AD patients than MCI patients and their respective controls and have been associated with memory impairment and loss of hippocampal volume. It should be noted, among men, the highest tertile of most ceramides were associated with an increased risk of AD, however, among women, there were no associations between any of the ceramides and risk of AD. These results provide highlight the importance of considering sex and APOE genotype in assessing this relationship.

What is Required from Patients

blood draw, mild discomfort, in clinic visits

What is Required from the Health System

phlebotomist, equipped lab (e.g., centrifuge), a way to measure the peptide (e.g., mass spectrometer, protein assay kit, ELISA, or western blot)

  1. Mielke, M. M., Bandaru, V. V. R., Haughey, N. J., Rabins, P. V., Lyketsos, C. G., & Carlson, M. C. (2010). Serum sphingomyelins and ceramides are early predictors of memory impairment. Neurobiology of aging, 31(1), 17-24. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2783210/

  2. Mielke, M. M., Bandaru, V. V. R., Haughey, N. J., Xia, J., Fried, L. P., Yasar, S., ... & Rabins, P. V. (2012). Serum ceramides increase the risk of Alzheimer disease: the Women's Health and Aging Study II. Neurology, 79(7), 633-641. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22815558

  3. Mielke, M. M., Haughey, N. J., Han, D., An, Y., Bandaru, V. V. R., Lyketsos, C. G., ... & Resnick, S. M. (2017). The association between plasma ceramides and sphingomyelins and risk of Alzheimer’s disease differs by sex and APOE in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 60(3), 819-828. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28035934

  4. Sharma, N., & Singh, A. N. (2016). Exploring biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research: JCDR, 10(7), KE01. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5020308/