Calcium responses in fibroblasts from asymptomatic members of Alzheimer's disease families.

We have previously identified alterations of K+ channel function, IP3-mediated calcium release, and Cp20 (a memory-associated GTP binding protein) in fibroblasts from Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients vs controls. Some of these alterations can be integrated into an index that distinguishes AD patients from controls with both high specificity and high sensitivity. We report here that alterations in IP3-mediated calcium responses are present in a large proportion of AD family members (i.e., individuals at high risk) before clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are present. This was not the case if such members later "escaped" AD symptoms. This preclinical calcium signal correlate of later AD does not reflect, however, the presence of the PS1 familial AD gene.