- June 25, 2026
- Mitchell Lai, et al., National University of Singapore
Topic/Product:
Alzheimer's, CNS Disease Panel 120, Dementia
Disease Area:
Alzheimer's Disease
Sample Type:
Plasma
Abstract
Background Associations between dietary micronutrients and cognitive resilience to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) amyloid pathology is currently unknown. We investigated whether plasma levels of L-ergothioneine (ET), its metabolite L-hercynine (HC), and their ratio (HC:ET, as an index of ET metabolism) affect known associations between biomarkers of amyloid pathology (p-Tau181 or p-Tau217) and cognitive decline.
Methods 259 initially dementia-free participants recruited from memory clinics and the community in Singapore had baseline measurements of plasma p-Tau, ET, HC, as well as annual neuropsychological assessments for up to 5 years to derive cognitive trajectories based on Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) slopes.
Results High HC:ET attenuated the positive correlations between plasma p-Tau and CDR-SB slopes. Compared with participants with low amyloid burden, participants with high amyloid burden had higher risk of cognitive decline when HC:ET was low (Hazard ratio [HR] = 2.33, p = 0.002), but not when HC:ET was high (HR = 1.47, p = 0.32).
Conclusion The identification of ET metabolism as a novel biomarker of cognitive resilience supports further investigations into mechanisms underlying its neuroprotectant properties. ET should be further assessed as a potential candidate for countering amyloid pathology-associated cognitive decline.
Authors and Affiliations
Joyce R. Chongᵃ˒ᵇ, Irwin K. Cheahᶜ˒ᵈ, Richard M. Tangᶜ˒ᵈ, Barry Halliwellᶜ˒ᵈ, Christopher P. Chenᵃ˒ᵇ, and Mitchell K.P. Laiᵃ˒ᵇ*
ᵃ Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117599, Singapore
ᵇ Memory Aging and Cognition Centre, National University Health System, Singapore 117577, Singapore
ᶜ Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117596, Singapore
ᵈ Life Science Institute, Neurobiology Programme, Centre for Life Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117456, Singapore
* Corresponding author
