title: Basal and activated intracellular calcium ion concentrations in mononuclear cells of Alzheimer's disease and unipolar depression.
abstract: We present the results of a case control study on the concentration of intracellular calcium [Ca+2]i in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), major affective disorder unipolar type (DEP), and elderly controls. We used the fluorescent dye Quin-2 to measure intracellular calcium concentration in PBMC both in their basal resting state [Ca+2]b and after activation [Ca+2]a with phytohemagglutinin (PHA). The [Ca+2]b and [Ca+2]a values in PBMC of AD patients were significantly higher than those of the elderly controls and of the DEP patients. In the DEP patients the [Ca+2]a values in PBMC were significantly higher than those of the elderly controls, but the [Ca+2]b values were not. [Ca+2]i levels did not correlate with age, gender, or duration and severity of the diseases investigated. These findings indicate that higher values of [Ca+2]b and [Ca+2]a may differentiate most AD patients from elderly controls or DEP patients.
authors.affiliation: Dementia Clinic, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adunsky
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diver-Haber
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hershkowitz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood*; D002118:Calcium / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007424:Intracellular Fluid / Q000378:metabolism; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium