Systemic inflammation, delirium and clinical progression in mild-moderate Alzheimer disease

EBioMedicine. 2026 Feb 17:106159. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2026.106159. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Both low-grade systemic inflammation and acute inflammatory events may contribute to Alzheimer Disease (AD) progression. However, studies examining the prognostic utility of systemic inflammatory biomarkers in AD, and how systemic inflammatory events may contribute to clinical trajectories in AD, have yielded conflicting results.

METHODS: We quantified plasma cytokines/chemokines in 333 individuals with mild-moderate AD at baseline, 12 and 18 months alongside baseline neurodegenerative biomarkers. AD severity was assessed using the Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-Cog), Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR-Sb) and Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD).

FINDINGS: Systemic inflammatory biomarkers were primarily associated with age/socio-demographic characteristics, remained strikingly stable over time, and were not associated with AD progression. Rather, higher baseline plasma p-tau217 was associated with greater yearly progression on both the ADAS-Cog (β: 2.82; 95% CI: 1.12, 4.52; nominal p = 0.001) and DAD (β: -2.34; 95% CI: -3.86, -0.82; nominal p = 0.003). Higher baseline GFAP was also associated with subsequent decline on both the CDR-Sb (β: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.38, 1.67; nominal p = 0.002) and DAD (β: 1.91; 95% CI: -3.45, -0.37; nominal p = 0.02). Experiencing one or more episodes of delirium was associated with accelerated decline on the CDR-Sb at 18-months (β: 2.63; 95% CI: 1.55, 3.71; adjusted p < 0.001).

INTERPRETATION: Biomarkers of neuroinflammation (GFAP), neurodegeneration (p-tau217) and incident delirium, rather than systemic inflammatory biomarkers, were associated with clinically-significant decline in mild-moderate AD.

FUNDING: European Commission (FP7 grant; 279093); Meath Foundation (MFRG 121/2021); Wellcome Trust (227946/Z/23/Z & 203930/B/16/Z); Health Research Board (203930/B/16/Z; ECSA-2024-003).

PMID:41708398 | DOI:10.1016/j.ebiom.2026.106159