AlzBiomarker

Dementia with Lewy Bodies vs Alzheimer's Disease: YKL-40 (CSF)

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YKL-40 is thought to be a marker of glial activation and inflammation. Meta-analysis of five eligible studies showed slightly lower levels of YKL-40 in the cerebrospinal fluid of people with dementia with Lewy bodies than people with Alzheimer's disease (effect size = 0.92, p = 0.027). The small effect size and marginal p value call into question the clinical and biological significance of this finding. For comparison, the level of YKL-40 in the CSF of control subjects was found to be about three-quarters that of people with AD.

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How to interpret a forest plot: Each individual effect size (ES) is a ratio of the mean biomarker level in one condition over the mean level in another condition. An ES equal to 1 means that the two conditions had identical mean values. An ES > 1 indicates higher levels in the first condition, whereas an ES < 1 indicates lower levels in the first condition. The overall ES, indicated by a black diamond, is a weighted average of the individual effect sizes. The weight of each data point was determined by the inverse of the variance and is reflected in the size of each square. The width of the overall ES diamond is determined by the 95 percent confidence interval. Data out of range of the scale, including ES and confidence intervals, are indicated by an arrowhead at the edge of the plot, when applicable. 

Version 3.0, July 2021.