title: Cerebrospinal fluid tau protein levels in demented and nondemented alcoholics.
abstract: The tau protein levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF-tau) were examined in 27 patients with alcohol dependence (20 demented and 7 nondemented), 36 age and dementia severity-matched patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 23 age-matched normal control subjects. The CSF-tau levels in the demented alcoholic group (alcohol-induced organic brain disorders, 25.4 +/- 10.2 pg/ml) was significantly lower (p < 0.0001) than that in the AD group (96.1 +/- 53.3 pg/ml), but not significantly different from that in the nondemented alcoholics (18.1 +/- 10.2 pg/ml) or the controls (19.2 +/- 12.9 pg/ml). Using a 44.9 pg/ml as a cut-off value (mean + 2 SD of the normal control group), only one patient with alcohol-induced organic brain disorders exceeded the value, whereas 3 of 36 of the AD group showed CSF-tau levels less than this level. These findings suggest that alcohol-induced organic brain disorders are a group of dementias that are characterized by normal CSF-tau levels, and that the CSF examination for tau in combination with other clinical findings may help in differentiating alcohol-induced organic brain disorders from AD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Medicine, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morikawa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawakami
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tashiro
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sasaki
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000425:Alcohol Amnestic Disorder / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003704:Dementia / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014899:Wernicke Encephalopathy / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
chemical_list: D016875:tau Proteins