【Health and Welfare News】 Reduced kidney function can accelerate the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Francesca Gasparini’s research team at the Karolinska Institutet presented research results showing that decline in kidney function may accelerate the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in people with high levels of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers, including amyloid beta protein.
In the large-scale longitudinal study ‘Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen’, kidney function was evaluated through blood tests in 2,279 people without dementia and their health status was compared for 8 years. When the group with reduced kidney function (557 people) had a dementia incidence rate of 25.31%, the group with good kidney function (1,722 people) had a dementia incidence rate of 12.84%.
Deterioration of kidney function was associated with an increase in the levels of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers, such as tau protein and amyloid beta protein, and even after excluding those who actually developed dementia, the decline in kidney function was associated with an increase in the levels of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers.
After controlling for the effects of age, gender, and genetic factors (APOEe4), decline in kidney function was not associated with dementia risk, but people with decline in kidney function and high levels of NfL (Neurofilament Light chain), an indicator of nerve cell damage, had twice the incidence of dementia compared to people with high NfL levels and no kidney function abnormalities.
Although decline in kidney function does not increase the incidence of dementia in people with high levels of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers, it can be seen to affect the timing of dementia onset, and in people with high levels of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers, the progression of Alzheimer’s disease may be predicted by kidney function.
American Academy of Neurology
