Reinikainen K J, Paljärvi L, Halonen T, Malminen O, Kosma V M, Laakso M, Riekkinen P J
Department of Neurology, Kuopio University Central Hospital, Finland.
Neurobiol Aging. 1988 May-Jun;9(3):245-52. doi: 10.1016/s0197-4580(88)80061-7.
The possible involvement of dopaminergic neurons in dementia of Alzheimer type (AD/SDAT) was studied in autopsied brains from 20 patients with AD/SDAT. Dopamine (DA) concentrations were decreased significantly in the temporal cortex, hippocampal cortex and hippocampus in AD/SDAT patients. Levels of homovanillic acid (HVA) were not altered compared to controls. The HVA/DA ratio was significantly higher in the hippocampus of AD/SDAT patients, suggesting overactivity of the remaining DA neurons. Histological findings of substantia nigra suggesting coexistent pathology of Parkinson's disease (PD) found in 25% of cases were associated with lowered levels of DA in striatum and with reduced HVA in CSF. The activity of monoamine oxidase-B was significantly increased in the cortical areas and in the hippocampus, obviously reflecting the underlying cell loss and substantial gliosis in these areas of the brain. In general, DA neurons seemed to be only mildly involved in AD/SDAT. Coexistent PD pathology can explain the loss of DA in the striatum and the presence of clinical PD symptoms in some patients with AD/SDAT. Otherwise the clinical relevance of these dopaminergic alterations is unclear.
在20例阿尔茨海默型痴呆（AD/SDAT）患者的尸检大脑中，研究了多巴胺能神经元在AD/SDAT中的可能参与情况。AD/SDAT患者颞叶皮质、海马皮质和海马中的多巴胺（DA）浓度显著降低。与对照组相比，高香草酸（HVA）水平未改变。AD/SDAT患者海马中的HVA/DA比值显著更高，提示剩余DA神经元活性过高。黑质的组织学检查结果显示，25%的病例存在帕金森病（PD）共存病理，这与纹状体中DA水平降低以及脑脊液中HVA减少有关。单胺氧化酶-B的活性在皮质区域和海马中显著增加，明显反映了大脑这些区域潜在的细胞丢失和大量胶质增生。总体而言，DA神经元似乎仅轻度参与AD/SDAT。共存的PD病理可以解释一些AD/SDAT患者纹状体中DA的丢失以及临床PD症状的出现。否则，这些多巴胺能改变的临床相关性尚不清楚。
