OBJECTIVE

To determine whether changes in brain biometals in Alzheimer disease (AD) and in normal brain tissue are tandemly associated with amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta) burden and dementia severity.

METHODS

The authors measured zinc, copper, iron, manganese, and aluminum and Abeta levels in postmortem neocortical tissue from patients with AD (n = 10), normal age-matched control subjects (n = 14), patients with schizophrenia (n = 26), and patients with schizophrenia with amyloid (n = 8). Severity of cognitive impairment was assessed with the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR).

RESULTS

There was a significant, more than twofold, increase of tissue zinc in the AD-affected cortex compared with the other groups. Zinc levels increased with tissue amyloid levels. Zinc levels were significantly elevated in the most severely demented cases (CDR 4 to 5) and in cases that had an amyloid burden greater than 8 plaques/mm(2). Levels of other metals did not differ between groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Brain zinc accumulation is a prominent feature of advanced Alzheimer disease (AD) and is biochemically linked to brain amyloid beta-peptide accumulation and dementia severity in AD.