BDNF Val66Met in preclinical Alzheimer's disease is associated with short-term changes in episodic memory and hippocampal volume but not serum mBDNF

Yen Ying Lim*, Stephanie Rainey-Smith, Yoon Lim, Simon M. Laws, Veer Gupta, Tenielle Porter, Pierrick Bourgeat, David Ames, Christopher Fowler, Olivier Salvado, Victor L. Villemagne, Christopher C. Rowe, Colin L. Masters, Xin Fu Zhou, Ralph N. Martins, Paul Maruff, The AIBL Research Group

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism Met allele exacerbates amyloid (Aβ) related decline in episodic memory (EM) and hippocampal volume (HV) over 36–54 months in preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the extent to which Aβ+ and BDNF Val66Met is related to circulating markers of BDNF (e.g. serum) is unknown. We aimed to determine the effect of Aβ and the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on levels of serum mBDNF, EM, and HV at baseline and over 18-months. Methods: Non-demented older adults (n = 446) underwent Aβ neuroimaging and BDNF Val66Met genotyping. EM and HV were assessed at baseline and 18 months later. Fasted blood samples were obtained from each participant at baseline and at 18-month follow-up. Aβ PET neuroimaging was used to classify participants as Aβ– or Aβ+. Results: At baseline, Aβ+ adults showed worse EM impairment and lower serum mBDNF levels relative to Aβ- adults. BDNF Val66Met polymorphism did not affect serum mBDNF, EM, or HV at baseline. When considered over 18-months, compared to Aβ– Val homozygotes, Aβ+ Val homozygotes showed significant decline in EM and HV but not serum mBDNF. Similarly, compared to Aβ+ Val homozygotes, Aβ+ Met carriers showed significant decline in EM and HV over 18-months but showed no change in serum mBDNF. Conclusion: While allelic variation in BDNF Val66Met may influence Aβ+ related neurodegeneration and memory loss over the short term, this is not related to serum mBDNF. Longer follow-up intervals may be required to further determine any relationships between serum mBDNF, EM, and HV in preclinical AD.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1825-1834
Number of pages10
JournalInternational Psychogeriatrics
Volume29
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Alzheimer's disease
  • brain-derived neurotrophic factor
  • hippocampal volume
  • memory

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