Inflammation and dementia: epidemiologic evidence

Abstract

Based on experimental and neuropathologic studies, inflammation is postulated to play a central role in processes leading to neurodegeneration as well as vascular injury. To better understand the role of inflammation in cognitive disorders (CD), identify potential biomarkers for CD, and select individuals who may have a genetic susceptibility to CD, several different measures of inflammation have been employed in epidemiologic studies of CD, which are reviewed here. An inverse association of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications has been consistently reported. More variable are reports on the associations of various serum markers of cytokines to CD. There are few epidemiologic studies that have examined the association of CD and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) regulating cytokines, although these have been examined in clinical case-control series. Data are summarized on the association of interleukin-1 SNPs from the Honolulu Asia Aging Study. There are many outstanding questions about the role of inflammation in CD and how best to measure it in the context of population-based studies.