Serum IgG brain reactive antibodies in Alzheimer disease and Down syndrome

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

The cause(s) of Alzheimer disease (AD) remain unknown. Since neurofibrillary tangles and neuritic plaques, a hallmark of AD, are also present in older patients with Down syndrome (DS), a close relationship between the two diseases has been suggested. IgG type of brain reactive antibodies (BRAs) are present in a majority of patients with AD but such studies have not been carried out in adult patients with DS. The present study was carried out to test the hypothesis that if the brain changes in older patients with DS and patients with AD are identical, the occurrence and specificity of BRAs should be similar in both diseases. The frequency of BRAs was studied in sera obtained from 21 patients with AD, 26 older patients with DS, and 20 normal control subjects using electroblots prepared from rat spinal cord proteins. Circulating BRAs were found in 57% of patients with AD, 81% of patients with DS, and 30% of normal controls. However, the pattern of BRA reactivity was different in AD and DS. In AD, antibodies reacted with the 200-kDa subunit of neurofilament triplet singly or in combination with the 150-kDa, 70-kDa or with the associated 62-kDa protein. In DS, BRAs always reacted with the 70-kDa protein, usually in combination with the 200-kDa subunit and, less frequently, in association with the other subunits. No specific pattern of antibody activity was evident in the control group.

@article{kumar1988-2974704,
  author  = {Kumar, M. and Cohen, D. and Eisdorfer, C.},
  title   = {{Serum IgG brain reactive antibodies in Alzheimer disease and Down syndrome}},
  journal = {Alzheimer disease and associated disorders},
  year    = {1988},
  doi     = {10.1097/00002093-198802010-00006},
  pmid    = {2974704},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1097/00002093-198802010-00006}
}

Key findings

• Circulating BRAs were found in 57% of patients with AD, 81% of patients with DS, and 30% of normal controls.
• However, the pattern of BRA reactivity was different in AD and DS.
• In AD, antibodies reacted with the 200-kDa subunit of neurofilament triplet singly or in combination with the 150-kDa, 70-kDa or with the associated 62-kDa protein.
• In DS, BRAs always reacted with the 70-kDa protein, usually in combination with the 200-kDa subunit and, less frequently, in association with the other subunits.
• No specific pattern of antibody activity was evident in the control group.

Why it matters

This study found brain reactive antibodies in 57% of people with Alzheimer disease, 81% of older people with Down syndrome, and 30% of normal controls, but the pattern of reactivity differed between the two conditions. It is a laboratory blood study and does not show a treatment or cure.

Study details

• Participants21
• Evidence strengthLow

Read the original

• DOI: 10.1097/00002093-198802010-00006
• PubMed: 2974704
• Original source →

May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.

Related

Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.

• same condition: Down syndrome Avoidable Mortality in Adults With Down Syndrome or With Other Intellectual Disabilities JAMA network open · 2026-11-02 · usefulness score 76/100
• same condition: Down syndrome The Alzheimer's Biomarker Consortium-Down Syndrome: Rationale and methodology Alzheimer's & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2020-08-03 · usefulness score 69/100
• same condition: Down syndrome The Down Alzheimer Barcelona Neuroimaging Initiative (DABNI) and its contributions to understanding Alzheimer's disease in Down syndrome: A decade of discovery Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025-06-01 · usefulness score 67/100
• same condition: Down syndrome Longitudinal Clinical and Cognitive Changes Along the Alzheimer Disease Continuum in Down Syndrome JAMA network open · 2022-08-01 · usefulness score 66/100
• same condition: Down syndrome Alzheimer Dementia Among Individuals With Down Syndrome JAMA network open · 2024-09-03 · usefulness score 66/100
• same condition: Down syndrome The striatum is an early, accurate indicator of amyloid burden using [11C]PiB in Down syndrome: comparison of two radiotracers Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2024-12-06 · usefulness score 63/100

Related studies in Down syndrome and Alzheimer's

• Apoptosis and increased generation of reactive oxygen species in Down's syndrome neurons in vitro Nature · 1995-12-01 · usefulness score 41/100
• Serum Beta-Synuclein Is Higher in Down Syndrome and Precedes Rise of pTau181 Annals of neurology · 2022-04-12 · usefulness score 56/100
• Changes in serum β-synuclein precede blood biomarkers of Alzheimer pathology in Down syndrome Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026-09-01 · usefulness score 47/100
• Identification of candidate serum protein biomarkers in Down's syndrome dementia Alzheimer s & Dementia · 2025-12-01 · usefulness score 36/100
• Serum interleukin-6 levels correlate with the severity of dementia in Down syndrome and in Alzheimer's disease Acta neurologica Scandinavica · 1997-10-01 · usefulness score 36/100
• [The significance of measurement of contents of serum serine protease inhibitors in senile dementia of the Alzheimer type] Rinsho shinkeigaku = Clinical neurology · 1989-10-01 · usefulness score 31/100

Also tagged “down”

527 studies in the library carry the topic tag “down”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 527 tagged studies.

• Down syndrome and Alzheimer disease: response to donepezil Archives of neurology · 2002-07-01 · usefulness score 42/100 · Down syndrome and Alzheimer's
• Myoclonic epilepsy in Down syndrome and Alzheimer disease Neurologia (Barcelona, Spain) · 2015-02-07 · usefulness score 36/100 · Down syndrome and Alzheimer's
• Down syndrome: progress in research Mental retardation and developmental disabilities research reviews · 2001-01-01 · usefulness score 32/100 · Down syndrome and Alzheimer's

Studies sharing this one's topic tags

• Neuronal plasticity and astrocytic reaction in Down syndrome and Alzheimer disease Journal of the neurological sciences · 1990-08-01 · usefulness score 39/100 · shares: down, syndrome
• Association of Apolipoprotein E ɛ4 Allele With Clinical and Multimodal Biomarker Changes of Alzheimer Disease in Adults With Down Syndrome JAMA neurology · 2021-08-01 · usefulness score 64/100 · shares: down, syndrome
• Comparison of CSF biomarkers in Down syndrome and autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease: a cross-sectional study The Lancet. Neurology · 2021-08-01 · usefulness score 62/100 · shares: down, syndrome
• Comparison of amyloid burden in individuals with Down syndrome versus autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease: a cross-sectional study The Lancet. Neurology · 2023-01-01 · usefulness score 60/100 · shares: down, syndrome
• Comparison of tau spread in people with Down syndrome versus autosomal-dominant Alzheimer's disease: a cross-sectional study The Lancet. Neurology · 2024-05-01 · usefulness score 67/100 · shares: down, syndrome

Similar studies

• Brain interleukin 1 and S-100 immunoreactivity are elevated in Down syndrome and Alzheimer disease 1989 · Down syndrome and Alzheimer's
• Reexpression of a developmentally regulated antigen in Down syndrome and Alzheimer disease 1988 · Down syndrome and Alzheimer's
• Down's syndrome, neuroinflammation, and Alzheimer neuropathogenesis 2013 · Down syndrome and Alzheimer's
• Down syndrome and Alzheimer disease 1992 · Down syndrome and Alzheimer's
• Brain insulin resistance triggers early onset Alzheimer disease in Down syndrome 2020 · Down syndrome and Alzheimer's
• Detection of Alzheimer disease in individuals with Down syndrome 1995 · Down syndrome and Alzheimer's

More on Down syndrome and Alzheimer's

• A review that covers this ground Metabolic and Vascular Imaging Biomarkers in Down Syndrome Provide Unique Insights Into Brain Aging and Alzheimer Disease Pathogenesis Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2018-06-21 · usefulness score 47/100
• Newest in this subject Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics of cellular heterogeneity in Alzheimer disease Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2026-11-06 · Peer-reviewed · usefulness score 43/100
• Newest in this subject Avoidable Mortality in Adults With Down Syndrome or With Other Intellectual Disabilities JAMA network open · 2026-11-02 · Peer-reviewed · usefulness score 76/100

See all studies in Down syndrome and Alzheimer's →