Maternal family history of Alzheimer's disease predisposes to reduced brain glucose metabolism.

Publication Type	Academic Article
Authors	Mosconi L, Brys M, Switalski R, Mistur R, Glodzik L, Pirraglia E, Tsui W, De Santi S, de Leon M
Journal	Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Volume	104
Issue	48
Pagination	19067-72
Date Published	11/14/2007
ISSN	1091-6490
Keywords	Alzheimer Disease, Cerebral Cortex, Genomic Imprinting, Glucose, Positron-Emission Tomography
Abstract	Having a parent affected with late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a risk factor for developing AD among cognitively normal subjects. We examined whether cognitively normal subjects with a parental family history of AD show cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRglc) reductions consistent with AD as compared with those without a family history and whether there are parent gender effects. Forty-nine 50- to 80-year-old normal subjects were examined who received clinical, neuropsychological, and 2-[(18)F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose-positron emission tomography examinations, including 16 subjects with a maternal (FHm) and eight with a paternal (FHp) family history of AD and 25 with no family history (FH(-)). FH groups were comparable for demographic and neuropsychological measures. As compared with both FH(-) and FHp groups, FHm subjects showed CMRglc reductions in the same regions as clinically affected AD patients, involving the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus, parietotemporal and frontal cortices, and medial temporal lobes (P < 0.05, corrected for multiple comparisons). These effects remained significant after accounting for possible risk factors for AD, including age, gender, education, apolipoprotein E genotype, and subjective memory complaints. No CMRglc differences were found between FHp and FH(-) subjects. This study shows a relationship between reduced CMRglc in AD-vulnerable brain regions and a maternal family history of AD in cognitively normal individuals.
DOI	10.1073/pnas.0705036104
PubMed ID	18003925
PubMed Central ID	PMC2141909