Association of Androgens and Gonadotropins with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Probable Alzheimer's Disease in Chinese Elderly Men.
BACKGROUND
Age-related hormone changes play important roles in cognitive decline in older men, and apolipoprotein E ɛ4 (APOEɛ4) is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD).


OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to investigate the interactive role of androgen decline and APOEɛ4 genotype in the pathogenesis of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and AD.


METHODS
In total, 576 elderly men over 65 years old from communities in Shijiazhuang were enrolled in this study, including 243 with normal cognition (NC), 271 with aMCI, and 62 with probable AD. Cognitive function was evaluated with a battery of neuropsychological tests. The serum levels of androgen and gonadotropin were detected by ELISA and chemiluminescence immunoassay.


RESULTS
The levels of free testosterone (FT) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) were lower in the aMCI group (p < 0.05), and even lower in the AD group (p < 0.001), but the levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH)were higher in AD group (p < 0.01), comparing with that in NC or aMCI group. The interaction of lower FT or DHT levels with APOEɛ4 had a risk role in global cognitive impairment (p < 0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of the ROC curve for predicting aMCI by serum FT levels was 0.745.


CONCLUSION
These results indicated that the interaction of androgen decline and APOEɛ4 genotype play a role in aMCI and AD. Serum FT levels have a predictive value for aMCI and might be a potential biomarker for prodromal AD.
['Li|Yan|Y|', 'Li|Sha|S|', 'Xu|Shunjiang|S|', 'Yu|Hong|H|', 'Tang|Longmei|L|', 'Liu|Xiaoyun|X|', 'Wang|Xuemei|X|', 'Zhang|Yuanyuan|Y|', 'Zhang|Kaixia|K|', 'Mi|Shixiong|S|', 'Chen|Meiqin|M|', 'Cui|Huixian|H|']
D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D000544:Alzheimer Disease D000728:Androgens D001057:Apolipoproteins E D015415:Biomarkers D002681:China D003071:Cognition D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction D013196:Dihydrotestosterone D018450:Disease Progression D005838:Genotype D006062:Gonadotropins D006801:Humans D008297:Male D009483:Neuropsychological Tests D013739:Testosterone
androgen gonadotropin amnestic mild cognitive impairment testosterone APOE Alzheimer’s disease