title: Failure to find a relationship between mnestic skills of octogenarians and aluminum in drinking water.
abstract: High concentrations of aluminum (greater than 80 micrograms/l) in drinking water have been related to an elevated incidence of Alzheimer's disease. Mnestic and naming skills of residents living for greater than 15 years in districts with high (98 micrograms/l) or low (4 micrograms/l) aluminum concentrations [Al] in the drinking water were evaluated in a population survey by examining 800 residents aged 81 to 85 using the mnestic subtest of the Mini Mental Status test (Zurich variant). The mnestic and naming performance of the octogenarians did not differ between the high- and low-content-areas. Since 73% of dementias are at least partly caused by Alzheimer's disease in the area examined and because the short test used discriminates demented from healthy octagenarians as well as tests involving extensive examinations, the findings of this study suggest with a high probability that the [Al] of drinking water is not an essential factor in the pathogenesis of senile dementia. The serum [Al] the urinary [Al] and the urinary [Al]/creatinine ratio were measured twice in ten clinically diagnosed Alzheimer patients and ten controls in both areas. No significant difference was found, which confirms the negative epidemiological findings.
authors.affiliation: Medical Services, City of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wettstein
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aeppli
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gautschi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peters
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects*; D000535:Aluminum / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects*; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D000535:Aluminum