Dementia, Thyroid Function and Serum Level of S100B

Dementia, Thyroid Function and Serum Level of S100B Samia A. Abdul-Rahman, Egypt SA Abdul-Rahman1 , SS Al saied1,WW Aly1 , SA Bastawy2 1 Geriatrics and Gerontology Department, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt, 2 Ain Shams University Hospitals, Cardiothoracic surgical center labs, Abbassea square, Cairo, Egypt. Background: Dementia is a syndrome of acquired intellectual deficit resulting in significant impairment of social and/or occupational functions. This syndrome has shared clinical outcome that derives from multiple etiologies. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common dementia in the elderly. The potential of peripheral biochemical markers as complementary tools in the neuropsychiatric evaluation of these patients has claimed further attention. Clinical hypo- and hyperthyroidism are recognized causes of reversible dementia but prior studies relating thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels to cognitive performance in clinically euthyroid persons have yielded inconsistent results.

Methods: We evaluated serum levels of S100B and thyroid functions in 58 dementia patients (28 AD patients, 10 vascular, 16 mixed dementia and 4 other degenerative dementias) and in 56 community-dwelling elderly. All participants were subjected to comprehensive geriatric assessment, and dementia stage and subtype were verified using assessment tools. S100B and TSH levels were measured in serum.

Results: Patients with dementia were significantly older than controls. They also had significantly lower levels of S100B than controls (24.59±8.282 vs. 30.07±9.26 pg/ml) (P =0.001). Yet, the difference between S100B levels among dementia subtypes was insignificant. Among dementia subtypes; thyroid status was normal in all dementia subtypes except for AD. Patients with AD had significantly high prevalence of thyroid disorders (12/28). No significant correlation was found between S100B and thyroid status of the cases.

Conclusion: S100B levels are significantly lower among patients with dementia but cannot be used for differentiation between dementia subtypes. Thyroid disorders- both hypothyroid and hyperthyroid- are common among patients with AD and should be routinely screened.

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