The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of anti-GM1 in demented patients, correlating them with the type and severity of dementia as well as with the eventually coexistent polyneuropathy. Anti-GM1 concentrations were measured in the sera of 33 demented patients with a male-to-female ratio of 1:2.7 (the mean age was 69.7 years for males and 70.1 years for females). Eighty-two percent of the patients revealed increased values of anti-GM1, but only 18.2% demonstrated polyneuropathies. Fifty-nine percent of the patients suffered from vascular dementia. The most severely demented patients demonstrated a Mini-Mental State Examination score of 5 to 23 out of 30 and revealed the most increased levels of anti-GM1 (>40 EU/mL). The findings of this study are indicative of a possible correlation between the levels of anti-GM1 and the severity of dementia, mainly of the vascular type.

We examined the sera of 103 demented patients of a mean age of 75 years and 60 age-matched healthy individuals, using ELISA, to investigate the levels of IgM antibodies against GM1, GD1b, and GQ1b gangliosides and their possible correlation with clinical parameters (age, severity, and type of dementia). All the individuals that demonstrated positive titers of anti-ganglioside antibodies were demented patients whereas normal controls showed borderline or negative values. Significant correlation was revealed between IgM anti-GM1 and both the age of the patients and the severity of dementia. Most of the patients with increased IgM anti-GD1b titers suffered from AD.

Apolipoprotein E is a plasma protein, involved in the transport of lipids and their metabolism. The aim of this investigation was to correlate the ApoE phenotypes with the type and the severity of dementia in Greek demented patients. The investigation revealed that 72% of the patients have the E3/3 phenotype, but only 11% of them demonstrated the E3/2; 13% of the patients have the E4/3 phenotype and only 4% of them demonstrated the phenotype E4/4. The most severely demented patients corresponded to e4 alléle. The present results indicate that the most common ApoE phenotype in Greek demented patients is E3/3.