Different Adenosine A 2A Receptor Expression in Peripheral Cells from Elderly Patients with Vascular Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease

The line between vascular dementia (VaD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) is often blurred. In this study we investigated whether adenosine A_2A receptor (A_2AR) expression can be used to differentiate between VaD and AD. We evaluated the expression of this receptor in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with VaD, mild cognitive impairment, AD, and controls. We found statistically significant lower levels of A_2AR mRNA in VaD compared to AD subjects. These data suggest that A_2AR expression may help in the differential diagnosis between VaD and AD.