Correlation between metal ions and clinical findings in subjects affected by Alzheimer's disease.

There is a growing interest to evaluate metals in biological fluids in Alzheimer's disease (AD). There are numerous studies on this theme, but just few papers analyzed the relationship between haematic metal concentrations and the clinical features of the disease. In this study, possible associations between clinical features of AD and the variations in serum and blood concentration of some metals, as well as the serum oxidative status and the antioxidant capacity have been investigated.

Monitoring of chemical elements and oxidative damage in patients affected by Alzheimer's disease.

The haematic concentration of 26 metals and the oxidative damage in 60 patients (20 males and 40 females) affected by Alzheimer's disease and 44 healthy individuals (33 males and 11 females) were compared. In patients, the following significant (p < or = 0.05) discrepancies were found: i) increment of Ca, Cd, Hg, Mg, Si and Sn, and decrement of Al, Co, Fe and Zn in serum; ii) higher concentrations of Cu, Li, Mn, Sn and Zr and lower of Fe, Hg, Mo in blood; iii) overproduction of oxidant species (SOS) and decrease of the anti-oxidant capacity (SAC) (p < or = 0.

Increased lymphocyte dopamine beta-hydroxylase immunoreactivity in Alzheimer's disease: compensatory response to cholinergic deficit?

There is growing interest in the characterization of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) as a biological tool with which to investigate changes in the neurotransmitter-receptor system in neurodegenerative disorders. Here we show a slight decrease in acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and a significant increase in dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) immunoreactivity in the PBL of patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). Therapy with AChE inhibitors completely reversed the increase in DBH immunoreactivity.