Preprint / Version 1

The Role of Iron in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Promising Biomarker

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  • Kristin Tsai Carnegie Vanguard High School
  • Sebastian Crespo Mark T. Sheehan High School
  • Sumuga Swaminathan Lake Norman High School

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.1059

Keywords:

Alzheimer's disease, ferroptosis, blood biomarkers, neurodegeneration, brain iron accumulation

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition, often associated with aging where the exact biomarkers are still being studied. Amyloid plaques and tau aggregations are commonly associated biomarkers in Alzheimer's Disease (AD), as blood based biomarkers are an upcoming approach to detect AD biomarkers (Hampel et al., 2023). In previous studies, a relation between iron and AD have been investigated, where high levels of ferritin were associated with cognitive impairment (Liu et al., 2018). Furthermore, in vitro studies have been conducted and discovered that  high brain iron causes aβ aggregation, which implies that iron may play a bigger role in AD (Liu et al., 2018). In the cellular perspective, ferroptosis, a newly discovered process of non-apoptotic cell death, is related to elevated levels of iron in the brain and depleted glutathione as a marker, which may provide a substantial lead in the cause of neuronal cell death in Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases (Li et al., 2020, Sun 2018). Previous studies of ferritin in CSF corresponding to Alzheimer’s disease have been done, but the use of blood biomarkers and longitudinal studies for iron as a biomarker need to be investigated (Ayton et al., 2015). The purpose of this study was to explore iron as a promising biomarker in Alzheimer’s. An experiment was conducted using blood samples from 2 groups of people, non AD and AD groups, where levels of ferritin and plasma related biomarkers were tested. To further confirm our groups, we utilized postmortem tissue to detect and iron accumulation in the brain. Our findings suggest that iron (serum ferritin) was consistently associated in high levels with Alzheimer patient brains, while the control group had a significantly lesser accumulation, suggesting iron to be a valid AD biomarker.

Author Biographies

Kristin Tsai, Carnegie Vanguard High School

Kristin Tsai is a high school student interested in healthcare, neuroscience, and public policy. Through her dedicated research career, she plans to build new insights that could help further science. In the future, she aspires to become a healthcare executive and use community-oriented insights to revolutionize healthcare.

Sebastian Crespo, Mark T. Sheehan High School

Hey! I’m Sebastian. Whenever my mom gets home, I love hearing about what it’s like in an ophthalmological field, I hope to one day do something in that field or similar.

Sumuga Swaminathan, Lake Norman High School

Class of 2026 - A student who is extremely interested in doing research dedicated to neuroscience and psychology.

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Posted

2024-04-07