Free copper and resting temporal EEG rhythms correlate across healthy, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease subjects.
OBJECTIVE
The present study tested the hypothesis that the serum copper abnormalities were correlated with alterations of resting electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms across the continuum of healthy elderly (Hold), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and AD subjects.


METHODS
Resting eyes-closed EEG rhythms delta (2-4Hz), theta (4-8Hz), alpha 1 (8-10.5Hz), alpha 2 (10.5-13Hz), beta 1 (13-20Hz), beta 2 (20-30Hz), and gamma (30-40Hz), estimated by LORETA, were recorded in 17 Hold, 19 MCI, 27 AD- (MMSE< or =20), and 27 AD+ (MMSE20) individuals and correlated with copper biological variables.


RESULTS
Across the continuum of Hold, MCI and AD subjects, alpha sources in parietal, occipital, and temporal areas were decreased, while the magnitude of the delta and theta EEG sources in parietal, occipital, and temporal areas was increased. The fraction of serum copper unbound to ceruloplasmin positively correlated with temporal and frontal delta sources, regardless of the effects of age, gender, and education.


CONCLUSIONS
These results sustain the hypothesis of a toxic component of serum copper that is correlated with functional loss of AD, as revealed by EEG indexes.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study represents the first demonstration that the fraction of serum copper unbound to ceruloplasmin is correlated with cortical delta rhythms across Hold, MCI, and AD subjects, thus unveiling possible relationships among the biological parameter, advanced neurodegenerative processes, and synchronization mechanisms regulating the relative amplitude of selective EEG rhythms.
Babiloni
Claudio
C
Dip Fisiologia Umana e Farmacologia, Univ La Sapienza, Rome, Italy. claudio.babiloni@uniroma1.it
Squitti
Rosanna
R
Del Percio
Claudio
C
Cassetta
Emanuele
E
Ventriglia
Maria Carla
MC
Ferreri
Florinda
F
Tombini
Mario
M
Frisoni
Giovanni
G
Binetti
Giuliano
G
Gurzi
Mariella
M
Salinari
Serenella
S
Zappasodi
Filippo
F
Rossini
Paolo M
PM
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015784:Betaxolol; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002570:Ceruloplasmin / Q000378:metabolism; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003300:Copper / Q000097:blood*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000145:classification; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology*; D014054:Tomography
D003300:Copper; D002570:Ceruloplasmin; D015784:Betaxolol