CDP-choline was given to patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) at a daily dose of 1000 mg/day p.o. for one month. This compound slightly improved mental performance, tended to reduce theta activity in fronto-temporal regions, increasing alpha power in occipital areas, and enhanced cerebrovascular perfusion by increasing blood flow velocity and reducing pulsatility and resistance indexes. In addition, CDP-choline diminished histamine and interleukin-1 levels in blood and serum, respectively, and increased plasma TNF.
The cholinergic dysfunction present in Alzheimer's disease (AD) might be due to a specific vulnerability of cholinergic neurons linked to neurotrophic imbalance, neuroimmune impairment, and/or direct effects of β‐amyloid deposition and NFT formation in ACh neurons. The presence of abnormal epitopes exposed on neuronal membranes may contribute to the activation of resting microglia initiating a neuroimmune cascade leading to cell destruction. According to this hypothesis, a multifactorial treatment in AD should produce: 1) inhibition of β‐amyloid and NFT formation; 2) restoration of neuronal membrane integrity; and 3) control of neuroimmune auto‐aggression. Since interleukin‐1 (IL‐1) is an APP gene promoter showing a progressive increase in body fluids in parallel with mental deterioration in AD patients, we have studied the effects of CDP‐choline on cognition, several biological parameters, and IL‐1β production in AD and multi‐infarct dementia (MID) in order to elucidate whether this compound alone or in combination with other drugs is able to restore immune function and improve mental performance in senile dementia.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.