Plasma cortisol levels in elderly female subjects with Alzheimer's disease: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study.
We investigated the plasma cortisol levels at a fasting state in elderly female Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VD), and non-demented subjects (n=66, 28 and 21, respectively). Twenty-eight AD subjects were followed for 40 months. The plasma cortisol levels in AD and VD subjects were significantly higher than those of non-demented subjects at baseline. In AD subjects in relatively early stages of the disease [Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)], at baseline, high plasma cortisol led to rapid declines in MMSE scores over a 40-month period.
Umegaki
H
H
Department of Geriatrics, Nagoya University, Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsuruma-Cho, Showa-Ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Aichi, Japan. umegaki@tsuru.med.nagoya-u.ac.jp
Ikari
H
H
Nakahata
H
H
Endo
H
H
Suzuki
Y
Y
Ogawa
O
O
Nakamura
A
A
Yamamoto
T
T
Iguchi
A
A
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000523:psychology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000097:blood* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008609:Mental Status Schedule / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012044:Regression Analysis
D015415:Biomarkers; D006854:Hydrocortisone