Diagnostic markers for diagnosing dementia with Lewy bodies: CSF and MIBG cardiac scintigraphy study

This study examined the diagnostic value of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers and iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine ((123)I-MIBG) cardiac scintigraphy in distinguishing dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) from Alzheimer's disease (AD).CSF levels of amyloid beta1-42 (Abeta42) and 181-Thr phosphorylated tau (p-tau) were measured using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. (123)I-MIBG cardiac scintigraphy was performed in patients with AD and DLB, and control (CTL) subjects.Increased CSF levels of p-tau in AD were found compared to DLB patients and CTL subjects (P0.01), but there was no significant difference in CSF levels of Abeta42 between AD and DLB patients. The early and delayed heart to mediastinum (H/M) ratios of (123)I-MIBG cardiac scintigraphy were significantly decreased in patients with DLB compared to AD patients and CTL subjects (P0.01). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that the diagnostic value of (123)I-MIBG cardiac scintigraphy was superior to that of CSF markers.(123)I-MIBG cardiac scintigraphy may be useful for discriminating between DLB and AD.