Evaluation of salivary acetylcholinesterase and pseudocholinesterase in patients with Alzheimer's disease: A case–control study

Abstract

Aim:The aim of this study was to evaluate acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and pseudocholinesterase (PChE) in whole saliva in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in healthy subjects. Saliva has a high potential for keeping track of general health and diseases. AD is a type of dementia with reduction in brain cholinergic markers that causes memory, thinking, and behavior problems. Up to 90% decrease in AChE activity has been observed in AD. Methods and results:Thirty healthy subjects and 30 patients with AD participated in this study. Saliva samples were collected from 8 to 10 AM. AChE and PChE of saliva were assessed by the Ellman method. Statistical comparison was performed using SPSS 16 for t-test. The activity of AChE and PChE significantly increased in the group with AD compared to the healthy subjects. Sex had no effect on the activities of these enzymes. No correlation existed between the duration of illness and enzymatic activity. The enzyme levels reduced with age.Conclusion: AChE and PChE levels were increased in saliva samples of patients with AD. Therefore, saliva has the potential for being used for the purpose of biomarker evaluation to replace cerebrospinal fluid in patients with AD.

The Evolving Landscape of Exosomes in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Exosomes Characteristics and a Promising Role in Early Diagnosis

“…The ratio of p-tau/total tau also increases in the case of AD [ 136 ]. The activity of lactoferrin and acetylcholinesterase was also assessed in AD patients [ 137 , 138 ].…”

Effect of Single Administration of Mulberry Milk on the Cognitive Function of 6–12-Year-Old Children: Results from a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study

“…The possible explanation for the lack of significant change of AChE might occur partly because the change of saliva AChE does not represent the changes of AChE and the cholinergic system in the target tissue due to the weak correlation of AChE in saliva and AChE in other tissues such as erythrocytes [ 30 ]. However, the recent study has reported that saliva AChE can be used as potential biomarkers to indicate the significant impairment of the cholinergic system and memory impairment in patients with Alzheimer's disease [ 31 ]. Therefore, the lack of significant change in saliva AChE might occur partly because cholinergic system change may not play a crucial role in the memory-enhancing effect induced by a single dose of mulberry milk.…”

Salivary biomarkers for diagnosis of systemic diseases and malignant tumors. A systematic review

“…One study searched DJ-1 proteins in Parkinson's patients (not statistically significant association) (18). The other one analyzed salivary metabolites in patient with Alzheimer's disease and found a statistically significant association between disease and biomarkers (19). Details on such papers are reported in Table 6.…”