Low levels of antibodies against phosphorylcholine in Alzheimer's disease

Phosphorylcholine (PC) may play an important role in the atherogenic and pro-inflammatory effects of oxidized low density lipoproteins. We recently demonstrated that low levels of IgM antibodies against PC (anti-PC) are associated with development of myocardial infarction and stroke. We here evaluate the association between anti-PC and dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We conducted a nested case-control study of 182 incident dementia cases (serum collected before onset of dementia) matched to 366 controls and a case-control study of 97 prevalent dementia cases (serum collected after dementia onset) matched to 205 controls. Controls were matched on gender and age at blood draw (+/- 1 year). Participants were from the Swedish Twin Registry. Anti-PC levels were measured by ELISA. The odds ratio (OR) of dementia was modeled using conditional logistic regression. Patients with dementia had significantly lower mean anti-PC levels than controls (39.1 versus 49.5 U/ml). The likelihood of having dementia or AD was doubled for individuals with the lowest 25% anti-PC levels (OR=2.04 and 2.70, respectively). The results were similar after adjustments for potential confounders. There was no association between anti-PC levels and incident dementia. Low levels of atheroprotective anti-PC could play a role in AD and dementia. Potential mechanisms include decreased anti-inflammatory potential and effects on the vasculature. Further attention is merited to elucidate the role of anti-PC in AD development and the usefulness of anti-PC as a part of risk prediction, prognosis, diagnosis, or treatment.