P4237N-terminal prosomatostatin predicts vascular dementia but not alzheimers disease

Background: The neuropeptide somatostatin, which is widely expressed throughout the central nervous system, has been cross-sectionally reported with increased plasma levels in patients with different types of dementia. Whether or not somatostatin is prospectively associated with dementia has however not yet been clarified. We explored the longitudinal association of somatostatin with all cause dementia and dementia subtypes among community-dwelling older adults. Methods: In a prospective population-based cohort, 5,347 study participants (mean age: 69±6 years, 70% male) provided plasma for determination of N-Terminal Prosomatostatin (NT-proSST) at baseline (2002–2006). Three-hundred-and-seventy-three patients (7%) were diagnosed with dementia (120 Alzheimer's disease, 83 vascular, 102 mixed, and 68 other aetiology) over a period of 4.6±1 years. The association of NT-proSST with the risk of dementia was studied using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression models controlling for traditional risk factors (age, gender, SBP, heart rate, antihypertensive treatment, smoking, diabetes, plasma-LDL and prevalent stroke). Results: Higher levels of NT-proSST levels were significantly associated with increased risk of vascular dementia (hazard ratio (HR) per 1SD: 1.29, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04–1.60; p=0.019) whereas no longitudinal association was observed with incident Alzheimer dementia (HR per 1SD: 0.99; 95% CI, 0.82–1.21, p=0.95) or all cause dementia (HR per 1SD: 1.04; 95% CI, 0.94–1.16, p=0.43).