Serum heme oxygenase-1 levels are increased in Parkinson's disease but not in Alzheimer's disease.
OBJECTIVE
Oxidative stress is implicated in Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is a potent antioxidant overexpressed in PD substantia nigra and AD cerebral cortex and hippocampus, indicating a possible up-regulation of antioxidant defenses in both neurodegenerative diseases. The role of HO-1 in peripheral blood of PD and AD patients remains unresolved.


METHODS
We measured serum HO-1 levels in 107 patients with PD, 105 patients with AD, 104 controls for PD and 120 controls for AD.


RESULTS
The median serum concentration of HO-1 was significantly higher in PD patients (2.04 ng/ml) compared with that of PD controls (1.69 ng/ml, P = 0.016), with PD patients predominating over controls in the upper tertile of serum HO-1 levels, whereas there was more PD controls than PD patients in the lower tertile (P = 0.006). Median serum levels of HO-1 did not differ significantly between AD patients and AD controls.


CONCLUSIONS
The increase of serum HO-1 levels in PD patients could indicate a systemic antioxidant reaction related to a chronic oxidative stress state in PD brain.
Neurology Service and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital (University of Cantabria), Santander, Spain.
I
I
Mateo
J
J
Infante
P
P
Sánchez-Juan
I
I
García-Gorostiaga
E
E
Rodríguez-Rodríguez
J L
JL
Vázquez-Higuera
J
J
Berciano
O
O
Combarros
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1 / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors
D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1