T680

Poster Presentations P4: age: 76.6 5.3) and 50 AD ( F/M 37/13; mean age: 77.8 5.3) subjects at baseline observation. Plasma level of tocopherols, tocotrienols and CoQ10 were assessed with a coularray-HPLC system. Results: Mean plasma level of each vitamin E isoform and of CoQ10 were signicantly higher in controls compared to AD and -with the exception of -tocopherol and -tocotrienol- also to MCI. Compared to AD, MCI showed statistically signicant higher level of -tocopherol, -tocopherol; -tocotrienol and CoQ10. Conclusions: A different prole of the various isoforms of vitamin E was found in cognitively normal elderly, in MCI subjects and in patients with AD. Of particular interest is the observation that both -tocopherol and -tocotrienol, that seem to have a more pronounced neuroprotective effect than other vitamin isoforms. Also CoQ10 seem to have a signicant role in neuroprotection. Appropriate diet intake/supplementation could be helpful.

CAD are predictors of cognitive decline and dementia, although the etiology of this relationship is not well understood. The goal of this study is to evaluate the association of coronary artery calcication (CAC), a subclinical measurement of CAD, with cognitive performance. Methods: A total of 116 non-demented community dwelling subjects over the age of 60 in Philadelphia were recruited. 103 of these subjects received a cognitive battery, a vascular disease risk factor assessment, and an Electron Beam Computerized Tomography (CT) scan. The Agatston score, which measures the amount of calcium at each coronary artery lesion scaled by an attenuation factor, and summed over all lesions, was used to measure CAC. In our analyses, we treated CAC dichotomously, using a standard cut-off point of 100. We also stratied our cognitive performance battery by age greater than or equal to 75, or less than 75. We used a linear regression analysis to evaluate the association of CAC on cognitive performance in specic domains and controlled for age, race, gender, education and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Results: In tests of executive function, CAC greater than 100 was found to be independently associated with lower performance (p 0.05) on the Digit Symbol Substitution (DSS) test and the Stroop Color-Word Test in subjects greater than 75 years of age. An interaction term for age and CAC score was signicant for both the DSS and Stroop Tests. CAC greater than 100 in adults over age 75 was also signicant for lower performance scores on the total learning and recall score of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). CAC greater than 100 was almost signicantly negatively associated (p 0.07) with performance on the Biber free recall test for visual memory. Conclusions: A CAC score greater than 100, independent of LDL-C, was negatively associated with lower performance in verbal and visual short-term memory, and for executive function in adults older than age 75. Further research is needed to understand the relationship of CAC with other vascular markers of cognitive impairment.

P4-043

NO RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SERUM FERRITIN AND COGNITIVE STATUS IN A PROSPECTIVE COMMUNITY STUDY OF OLDER ADULTS

Elizabeth Milward1, David Bruce2, Michelle Cole2, Matthew Knuiman2, Mark Divitini3, Helen Bartholomew2, Graham Maier2, John Olynyk2, 1University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia; 2University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia; 3 University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW, Australia. Contact e-mail: Liz.Milward@newcastle.edu.au Background: There has been considerable speculation about the effects of abnormal iron status on cognitive function and dementia risk in older people. We examined the relationship of serum ferritin, measured in 1994-5 and 2003-4, with cognitive status in 2003-4 in 800 communitydwelling Australians aged 60 years or more at cognitive testing. Methods: Serum ferritin was measured in 1994-5 and 2003-4. Cognitive status was assessed in 2003-4 using a validated cognitive examination (CAMCOG), with clinical examination, including Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), of participants with CAMCOG 84. The CAMCOG assesses a range of domains (memory, orientation, language, attention/ calculation, praxis, abstract thinking, perception). It also allows calculation of a separate executive function score. Serum ferritin was stratied using gender-specic reference ranges as low, normal-low, normal-high and high and relationship with cognitive scores assessed by ANOVA F-test on unadjusted values and ANCOVA F-test after adjustment for potential confounders (gender, age, National Adult Reading Test, history of stroke) with post-hoc pairwise testing. Results: Within the group without dementia based on CAMCOG and clinical evaluation (n 749), neither serum ferritin level in 1994-5 or 2003-4 nor the change in serum ferritin level between these two times was signicantly related to total CAMCOG scores either for unadjusted values or after adjustment (all p 0.05). There were also no effects on executive function score. Similarly no effects were observed for the group with possible or probable dementia based on CAMCOG, CDR and clinical examination (n 51). Conclusions: It is concluded that as gauged by serum ferritin, abnormal body iron stores (low or high) are unlikely to have clinically signicant effects on cognition or dementia risk in older people within the community. It remains possible that abnormal brain iron status might affect cognition or dementia risk in some individuals and that body or brain iron status might inuence dementia severity or rate of progression or specically affect a particular type of dementia. The study did not discriminate between Alzheimers disease, dementia of vascular etiologies or other dementias. The ndings also do not preclude cognitive effects in a few individuals with extremely high body iron levels.

P4-042

PLASMA LEVELS OF VITAMIN E ISOFORMS AND OF COENZYME Q10 IN COGNITIVELY NORMAL, MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND ALZHEIMERS DISEASE ELDERLY SUBJECTS: PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM THE ADDNEUROMED PROJECT

Patrizia Mecocci1, Francesca Mangialasche1,2, Emanuela Costanzi1, Roberta Cecchetti1, Patrizia Rinaldi1, Valentina Serani1, Mauro Baglioni1, Patrizia Bastiani1, on behalf of the AddNeuroMed Consortium, 1University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy; 2ARC, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Contact e-mail: mecocci@unipg.it Background: Oxidative stress (OS) is a central feature in Alzheimer disease (AD), and evidence of OS in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) suggests that OS is an early event in cognitive decline. In MCI and AD there is evidence of depletion of antioxidant micronutrients, like vitamin E, which is the most powerful chain-breaking non-enzymatic antioxidant. However, there is insufcient evidence regarding the relationship between vitamin E and MCI/AD status and progression. In most of the studies only -tocopherol has been assessed, but other naturally occurring molecules with vitamin E activity (namely -, -, and -tocopherol; -, -, -, and -tocotrienol) have been identied. Each vitamin E isoform possesses unique biological functions, often not shared by the other family members, but few studies has been performed on the other tocophetols and none on tocotrienols in dementia. Also coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) seems to affect cognition and it was considered in this research. Methods: Aim of the study is to evaluate plasma level of vitamin E isoforms and CQ10 in AD, MCI and normal elderly subjects. Elderly subjects (age 65 years) from the AddNeuroMed Project, a multicentric longitudinal research funded by the EC, were studied. Measurements were performed in plasma samples of 54 control (F/M 31/23 mean age: 73.2 5.6), 52 MCI (F/M 28/24; mean