title: Peripheral serotonin in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: The platelet has been suggested to be a peripheral model of the central serotonergic neuron. This investigation was carried out in order to test the hypothesis that levels of serotonin (5-HT) in the platelet will be decreased in Alzheimer's disease (AD) since neurochemical studies suggest that levels of 5-HT are decreased in the brain of AD patients. We investigated platelet and plasma 5-HT in a group of AD patients (n = 22) as well as in age-matched normal control subjects (n = 20). The results show that the platelet level of 5-HT was significantly reduced in AD (65.7 +/- 28.41 ng/10(8) platelets in AD vs. 112.9 +/- 35.11 ng/10(8) platelets in controls; p = 0.0001). There was no effect on the levels of its metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid. These findings suggest that the peripheral serotonergic system in AD is adversely affected.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami School of Medicine, FL 33101, USA.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sevush
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eisdorfer
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood*; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012701:Serotonin / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid