IL-6 as a Measure of Peripheral Inflammation is More Often Elevated in Cognitively Impaired Individuals
Analysis of 514 COMPASS-ND participants shows IL-6 is more often elevated in cognitively impaired individuals (12% in controls vs 30–55% across impairment subgroups); peripheral IL-6 and CRP associate with age, higher BMI, and greater Fazekas white-matter hyperintensity scores, while authors caution that therapeutic targeting of such inflammation for dementia prevention remains unproven.
Why it mattersElevated IL-6 in COMPASS-ND predicts higher dementia prevalence, prompting prioritization of anti-inflammatory trials.