Requena-Ocaña, NereaAraos, PedroFlores, MaríaGarcía-Marchena, NuriaSilva-Peña, DanielAranda, JesúsRivera, PatriciaRuiz, Juan JesúsSerrano, AntoniaPavón, Francisco JavierSuárez, JuanRodríguez de Fonseca, Fernando2022-06-222022-06-222021-08-02Requena-Ocaña N, Araos P, Flores M, García-Marchena N, Silva-Peña D, Aranda J, et al. Evaluation of neurotrophic factors and education level as predictors of cognitive decline in alcohol use disorder. Sci Rep. 2021 Aug 2;11(1):15583http://hdl.handle.net/10668/3695Cognitive reserve (CR) is the capability of an individual to cope with a brain pathology through compensatory mechanisms developed through cognitive stimulation by mental and physical activity. Recently, it has been suggested that CR has a protective role against the initiation of substance use, substance consumption patterns and cognitive decline and can improve responses to treatment. However, CR has never been linked to cognitive function and neurotrophic factors in the context of alcohol consumption. The present cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the association between CR (evaluated by educational level), cognitive impairment (assessed using a frontal and memory loss assessment battery) and circulating levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Our results indicated that lower educational levels were accompanied by earlier onset of alcohol consumption and earlier development of alcohol dependence, as well as impaired frontal cognitive function. They also suggest that CR, NT-3 and BDNF may act as compensatory mechanisms for cognitive decline in the early stages of AUD, but not in later phases. These parameters allow the identification of patients with AUD who are at risk of cognitive deterioration and the implementation of personalized interventions to preserve cognitive function.enAtribución 4.0 InternacionalAtribución 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/NeurosciencePsychologyBiomarkersNeurocienciasPsicologíaBiomarcadoresMedical Subject Headings::Psychiatry and Psychology::Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms::Behavior::Drinking Behavior::Alcohol AbstinenceMedical Subject Headings::Psychiatry and Psychology::Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms::Behavior::Drinking Behavior::Alcohol DrinkingMedical Subject Headings::Psychiatry and Psychology::Mental Disorders::Substance-Related Disorders::Alcohol-Related Disorders::AlcoholismMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins::Peptides::Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins::Nerve Growth Factors::Brain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorMedical Subject Headings::Psychiatry and Psychology::Psychological Phenomena and Processes::Mental Processes::Cognition::Cognitive ReserveMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Environment and Public Health::Public Health::Epidemiologic Factors::ComorbidityMedical Subject Headings::Check Tags::FemaleMedical Subject Headings::Organisms::Eukaryota::Animals::Chordata::Vertebrates::Mammals::Primates::Haplorhini::Catarrhini::Hominidae::HumansMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins::Proteins::Carrier Proteins::Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins::Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3Medical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins::Peptides::Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins::Somatomedins::Insulin-Like Growth Factor IMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins::Peptides::Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins::Somatomedins::Insulin-Like Growth Factor IIMedical Subject Headings::Persons::Persons::Men::Nurses, MaleMedical Subject Headings::Persons::Persons::Age Groups::Adult::Middle AgedMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Environment and Public Health::Public Health::Epidemiologic Methods::Statistics as Topic::Analysis of Variance::Multivariate AnalysisMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Investigative Techniques::Epidemiologic Methods::Statistics as Topic::Principal Component AnalysisMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Population Characteristics::Socioeconomic Factors::Educational Statusresearch article34341419open access10.1038/s41598-021-95131-22045-2322PMC8328971