CSF d-serine concentrations are similar in Alzheimer's disease, other dementias, and elderly controls

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of d-serine were recently reported as a potential new biomarker for Alzheimer's disease (AD), showing a perfect distinction between AD patients and healthy controls. In this study, we aimed to confirm these results and extend these previous findings to dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia. d-Serine levels in CSF of 29 AD patients, 8 dementia with Lewy bodies patients, 14 frontotemporal dementia patients, and 28 nondemented controls were measured using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. In contrast to previous findings, in our study CSF d-serine levels were only slightly increased in AD patients compared with controls. CSF d-serine in AD did not differ from other dementias and was also not correlated to mini-mental state examination-scores. Owing to the large overlap of d-serine levels, we conclude that CSF d-serine is neither a suitable biomarker for AD nor for cognitive decline.