Correlation between cognition and plasma noradrenaline level in Alzheimer’s disease: a potential new blood marker of disease evolution

Recent evidence showing degeneration of the noradrenergic system in the locus coeruleus (LC) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has motivated great interest in noradrenaline (NA) as a potential brain hallmark of the disease. Despite the current exploration of blood markers for AD, the deregulation of the plasma NA concentration ([NA](plasma)) in AD is currently not well understood. This retrospective study includes a cohort of 71 patients (32 AD patients, 22 with other dementia and 17 without dementia) who were given consultations for memory complaints in the Cognitive Neurology Center of Lariboisière (Paris) between 2009 and 2014. As previously described in brain tissue, we show for the first time a linear correlation between [NA](plasma) and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score in AD patients. We observed that high [NA](plasma) in AD patients was associated with higher [Aβ(1–42)](CSF) than in other AD patients with [NA](plasma) similar to NC patients. In parallel, we observed a lower (p-Tau/Tau)(CSF) in AD patients with low [NA](plasma) than in non-AD patients with [NA](plasma) similar to [NA](plasma) in NC patients. Our data suggest that [NA](plasma) could be a potential biomarker of disease evolution in the context of AD and could possibly improve early diagnosis.