Systemic inflammation and disease progression in Alzheimer disease

Acute and chronic systemic inflammation are characterized by the systemic production of the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) that plays a role in immune to brain communication. Previous preclinical research shows that acute systemic inflammation contributes to an exacerbation of neurodegeneration by activation of primed microglial cells.

To determine whether acute episodes of systemic inflammation associated with increased TNF-alpha would be associated with long-term cognitive decline in a prospective cohort study of subjects with Alzheimer disease.