Copper perturbation in 2 monozygotic twins discordant for degree of cognitive impairment.

Background: Recent evidence indicates that peripheral tissue markers can provide information regarding changes affecting cellular metabolism in Alzheimer disease (AD). We previously reported that serum copper levels can discriminate subjects with AD from normal control subjects (with 60% sensitivity and 95% specificity) and from patients with vascular dementia (with 63% sensitivity and 85% specificity).

Objective: To study the correlation between AD and serum levels of transition metals and markers of peripheral oxidative stress.