We compared CSF and serum levels of iron, copper, manganese, and zinc, measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, in 26 patients patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) without major clinical signs of undernutrition, and 28 matched controls. CSF zinc levels were significantly decreased in AD patients as compared with controls (p < 0.05). The serum levels of zinc, and the CSF and serum levels of iron, copper, and manganese, did not differ significantly between AD-patient and control groups. These values were not correlated with age, age at onset, duration of the disease, and scores of the MiniMental State Examination in the AD group. Weight and body mass index were significantly lower in AD patients than in controls. Because serum zinc levels were normal, the possibility that low CSF zinc levels were due to a deficiency of dietary intake seems unlikely. However, it is possible that they might be related to the interaction of beta-amyloid and/or amyloid precursor protein with zinc, that could result in a depletion of zinc levels.
To investigate pulmonary function abnormalities in Parkinson's disease (PD), we obtained maximal inspiratory and expiratory flow-volume curves in 63 patients (59 under treatment) with different stages of the disease, not filtered for respiratory symptoms. PD severity was evaluated by the Unified PD Rating Scale, the Webster's scale, and Hoehn and Yahr staging. Patients with more severe PD had lower percentage forced vital capacity (FVC%), and peak inspiratory and expiratory flows. Those with fluctuations and/or dyskinesias had lower FVC% and percentage forced expiratory flow volume in 1 sec (FEV1%). There were a number of weak but significant correlations between PD scales and spirographic parameters. Thirty one patients (49.2%) had pathological flow-volume curves. The clinical profile and the duration of the disease did not influence the pattern of the curve. Physiologic evidence of upper airway obstruction was observed in 3 cases. A spirometric restrictive ventilatory defect (FEV1/FVC higher than or equal to 80%) was observed in 54 patients (85%), while generalized airway obstruction was present only in one nonsmoker. We conclude that abnormal flow-volume loop contour is a frequent finding in PD. This probably reflects involvement of the upper airway musculature, that in some patients can produce upper airway obstruction. Generalized airflow limitation is not an important characteristic of PD. By contrast, a restrictive spirometric defect, probably due to incoordinated expiratory effort or abnormally low chest wall compliance, is the main spirometric finding in these patients.
We compared CSF and serum selenium levels, measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, in 27 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (13 females, 14 males, mean +/- SD age 73.6 +/- 7.4 years) without major clinical signs of undernutrition, and 34 matched controls (18 females, 16 males, mean +/- SD age 70.7 +/- 7.8 years). CSF and serum selenium levels did not differ significantly between AD-patient (11.4 +/- 7.8 ng/ml and 28.5 +/- 13.0 ng/ml, respectively) and control groups (13.3 +/- 7.0 ng/ml and 22.5 +/- 17.5 ng/ml). These values were not correlated with age, age at onset, duration of the disease, and scores of the MiniMental State Examination in the AD group. Weight and body mass index were significantly lower in AD patients than in controls. These results suggest that CSF selenium concentrations are apparently unrelated with the reported oxidative stress processes in patients with AD.
It is assumed that prior probability of AD is 66%,' and that 50% of non-AD dementias are Vdem and 50% are other forms which have apoE allele frequency similar to controls. Data on the largest proportion of our patients and all controls have been published.49
We studied respiratory-chain enzyme activities in lymphocyte mitochondria from 36 untreated Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and in 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The respiratory-chain enzyme activities did not differ significantly between patients and controls. Moreover, no patient showed respiratory-chain enzyme levels below normal range. Values for activities of complexes in the PD group did not correlate with age at onset, duration, scores of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating scales, or Hoehn and Yahr staging. These results suggest that the presence of defects of respiratory-chain complexes could depend on methodologic aspects, and that determinations of respiratory-chain enzymes in cell homogenates are not generally appropriate for evaluating abnormal mitochondrial dysfunction, especially when the amount of the specific enzyme is relatively low, as is the case of blood cells. In addition, the method of measuring complex I activity is critical for evaluating the results. In conclusion, our finding of normal mitochondrial function in lymphocyte mitochondria suggests that this tissue cannot be used to develop a diagnostic test for PD.
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