VCAM-1 as an Endothelial Factor for Diagnosis of Dementia in Parkinsonâs Disease

Background: Cognitive changes are often reported in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Numerous studies showed that there are changes in the patterns of inflammation when vascular dementia progressed, but the role of inflammation in PD is unknown. Methods: 75 consecutive diagnosed PD patients included. Patients divided into idiopathic PD (n=55) and PDD (n=20) based on DSM–IV criteria for diagnosis of dementia. Serum levels of vascular and inflammatory biomarkers for interleukin-6 (IL-6), high sensitivity-C reactive protein (hs- CRP), soluble intracellular cell adhesion molecule (ICAM-1), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1) investigated by ELISA assay and compared between PD and PDD. Result: The significant enhancement of the VCAM-1 only found in serum of PDD compared to PD (56/06 ± 58/16 ng/ml vs. 30/43 ± 38/30, P=0/04), even after adjustment age, gender and hypertension (OR=1/01, P=0/05). Cut-off point of VCAM-1 levels was equal to or greater than as 40/14 ng/ml for differentiating dementia in PD from PD without dementia with sensitivity and specificity were 73%, 64%. Conclusion: PDD patients had significant higher levels of VCAM-1 than PD, suggesting the serum levels of VCAM-1 may be a useful marker for PDD diagnosis. Future studies are needed to investigate possible association betweenVCAM-1 levels in PDD in larger sample size.