Association of Plasma Homovanillic Acid with Behavioral Symptoms in Patients Diagnosed with Dementia: A Preliminary Report

Abnormal neurotransmitter metabolite levels in Alzheimer patients with a delirium

“…Given that neurotransmitter deficits may increase with aging (Sweet et al, 1997;Meltzer et al, 1999;Reeves et al, 2002;Haycock et al, 2003), the advanced age (mean >80 years) of our patient sample may have influenced our findings. It is possible that the differences in plasma HVA and 5-HIAA levels in our study would have been even more marked in a 'younger' sample of delirious AD patients.…”

“…Abnormal concentrations of amino acids and of neurotransmitter metabolites have been found in plasma (Basun et al, 1990;Kumar et al, 1995;Sweet et al, 1997), platelets (Kumar et al, 1995) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (Kaye et al, 1988a;Kaye et al, 1988b;Basun et al, 1990;Blennow et al, 1992;Parnetti et al, 1992;Toghi et al, 1992;Lopez et al, 1996;Sjoegren et al, 1998) of AD patients, and in plasma (Sano et al, 1994;Nakamura et al, 1997) and CSF (Koponen et al, 1995;Couvreur et al, 2002) of patients with a delirium. Many of these parameters are associated with clinical features (Kaye et al, 1988a;Kaye et al, 1988b;Parnetti et al, 1992;Sano et al, 1994;Koponen et al, 1995;Lopez et al, 1996;Sweet et al, 1997;Sjoegren et al, 1998). Several studies have suggested the presence of disturbed cholinergic, dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways in both diseases (Rossor, 1982;Van der Mast and Fekkes, 2000).…”

Pharmacologic Management of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Alzheimer Disease

“…17 Understanding BPSD from this perspective has led to various nonpharmacologic, psychosocial, and environmental treatments. Biological theories have focused on variable effects on neurotransmitter systems, including serotonin, 18 norepinephrine, 19 dopamine, 20 acetylcholine, 21 and GABA. 22 These theories have led to pharmacologic treatments targeting specific neurotransmitters.…”

Pharmacotherapy of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia: Time for a Different Paradigm?

“…107 Similarly, improvement in hostility during perphenazine treatment correlated with changes in plasma HVA levels in 21 patients (89% with AD), further supporting the link between aggression and DA. 108 Thus preservation of DA may be associated with aggressive behaviors. It is plausible that cholinergic and serotonergic dysfunction may be present and necessary for this behavior.…”