Neurogranin as a Novel Biomarker in Alzheimer's Disease

BACKGROUND: In this study, we investigated the possible role of 2 novel biomarkers of synaptic damage, namely, neurogranin and alpha-synuclein, in Alzheimer disease (AD).METHODS: The study was performed in a cohort consisting of patients with AD and those without AD, including individuals with other neurological diseases. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neurogranin and alpha-synuclein levels were measured by sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs).RESULTS: We found significantly increased levels of CSF neurogranin and alpha-synuclein in patients with AD than those without AD. Neurogranin was correlated with total tau (tTau) and phosphorylated tau (pTau), as well as with cognitive decline, in patients with AD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed good diagnostic accuracy of neurogranin for AD at a cutoff point of 306 pg per mL with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.872 and sensitivity and specificity of 84.2% and 78%, respectively.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the use of CSF neurogranin as a biomarker of synapsis damage in patients with AD.