The paper “Pathophysiological subtypes of mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease identified by CSF proteomics”, authored by LASIGE’s integrated researchers Helena Aidos and Sara C. Madeira, was published in Translational Neurodegeneration, a top-ranked journal with an impact factor of 12.6 and ranked in the top 10% of the Scimago Journal Ranking. The paper is co-authored by investigators from the University of Lisbon, the University of Coimbra, and the University of Gothenburg.

This study focuses on the analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteomic changes among Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) patients, aiming to discern specific proteome alterations linked directly to AD pathogenesis. CSF proteomics served as a discriminative tool to differentiate between MCI due to AD and non-degenerative MCI. Non-negative matrix factorization was applied to unveil potential subtypes within MCI patients displaying AD pathology.

This study’s findings reveal two consistent subtypes of AD patients at the MCI stage which can be characterized as (i) immune dysfunction and blood-brain barrier impairment, and (ii) hyperplasticity. These discoveries may hold substantial implications for shaping and interpreting clinical trials, as there may be an association between treatment response and the specific AD subtype to which patients belong.