Researchers investigated the association between serum folate levels and amyloid imaging to clarify whether serum folate could be a biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). They examined the usefulness of a combined assessment of serum folate levels and red blood cell hemoglobin content. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene polymorphisms were also assessed. “Serum folate levels and hemoglobin content were evaluated by receiver operation characteristic analysis for their diagnostic capability as AD biomarkers relating to brain amyloid β accumulation.” A high probability of also testing positive for amyloid was correlated to folate deficiency with low folate levels or non-anemia with high hemoglobin content. Of the 17 patients tested, eight were found to be folate deficient and non-anemia. Of these eight, seven were determined to be amyloid positive (87.5%), with only one amyloid negative (12.5%). Results suggest that a deficiency of serum folate and high hemoglobin levels may reflect an increased risk of amyloid β accumulation in the brain, and that the combination of serum folate levels and hemoglobin content is a more specific and sensitive blood biomarker for AD than APOE or folate alone. Consequently, these findings may be used to support clinical diagnosis of AD using a simple blood test.
Yoshinaga T, Nishimata H, Kajiya Y, Yokoyama S. Combined assessment of serum folate and hemoglobin as biomarkers of brain amyloid β accumulation. PLoS ONE. 12(4): e0175854. Pub April 13, 2017.