Serum zonulin levels are increased in Alzheimer's disease but not in vascular dementia.

"Declarations Conflict of interestThe authors declare no conflict of interest. Ethical approvalThe study was carried out in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association, www.wma.net) and it was approved by the Local Ethic Committee of Arcispedale S. Anna, Ferrara (protocol n. 170579). Statement of human and animal rightsThe study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria S. Anna, Ferrara, Italy (Protocol No.170579 ). All procedures of this study adhered to the declaration of Helsinki. Informed consentSigned informed consent, which was written in compliance with local and national ethical guidelines, was obtained from each patient before the inclusion into the study. All subjects gave their consent to participate and for the publication of the obtained data. Conflict of interest The authors declare no conflict of interest."

"Funding Open access funding provided by Università degli Studi di Ferrara within the CRUI-CARE Agreement. The present study was supported by funds from the University of Ferrara to R.D.G., C.C. and G.Z."