Cerebrospinal fluid ferritin levels of patients with Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and multiple system atrophy.

Iron is believed to play a role in the pathogenesis of both Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We measured ferritin, which is considered to be the iron storage protein, in CSF of patients with PD, AD, and multiple system atrophy (MSA) as well as control subjects. We found a significant increase in CSF ferritin in AD compared with both PD and age-matched controls. No significant differences were found between PD patients with dementia (PDD) and non-demented PD patients. For non-demented PD patients a positive correlation between CSF ferritin and age was found. Our results may indicate that iron has a role in the pathophysiology of AD.