title: Blood cells cholinesterase activity in early stage Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.
abstract: Blood acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) activities have been studied as markers for Alzheimer's disease (AD), but their usefulness as a disease marker is controversial. To determine cholinesterase (ChE) activity during AD progression and whether ChE changes associate to other dementias, ChE activity was measured in lymphocytes, erythrocytes and platelets. Subjects underwent extensive medical and neuropsychological examination. Both early-AD and AD patients had lower AChE activity in lymphocytes compared to control subjects (p < 0.0001). In contrast, erythrocyte AChE activity was higher in patients with vascular dementia (p = 0.004). Low ChE activity in lymphocytes was the best discriminator for AD. Because it was already low at very early stages of AD, ChE could be helpful as an early biomarker of differential diagnosis for the follow-up of patients during their early stages of cognitive impairment before a clinical dementia is established.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Marcoleta 391, Santiago, Chile. rvonb@med.puc.cl
authors.forename: Rommy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: von Bernhardi
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alarcón
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mezzano
authors.forename: Patricio
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fuentes
authors.forename: Nibaldo C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Inestrosa
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002091:Butyrylcholinesterase / Q000097:blood; D002802:Cholinesterases / Q000097:blood*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D002091:Butyrylcholinesterase; D002802:Cholinesterases