Somatostatin concentrations and binding sites in human frontal cortex are differentially affected in Parkinson's disease associated dementia and in progressive supranuclear palsy.

Somatostatin (SRIF) binding sites were characterized in membrane preparations from post mortem human brain tissues using 125I-Tyr0-D-Trp8-SRIF as a ligand. Density of binding sites were high in subiculum and cortex, moderate in temporal cortex, hippocampal formation and hypothalamus and low in putamen. No correlation was observed with the regional distribution of SRIF levels as measured by RIA. Pharmacological characterization, in frontal cortex preparations, revealed that 125I-Tyr0-D-Trp8-SRIF binding was heterogenous and fitted best with a two sites model. 125I-Tyr0-D-Trp8-SRIF binding was guanine nucleotide dependent. Cortical 125I-Tyr0-D-Trp-8-SRIF binding was not different from controls in non-demented or demented parkinsonians and in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy. On the contrary, SRIF levels were significantly decreased in demented parkinsonians.