Am J Psychiatry 1992; 149:251-254
Copyright © 1992 by American Psychiatric Association
Glutamate and other CSF amino acids in Alzheimer's disease
N Pomara, R Singh, D Deptula, JC Chou, MB Schwartz and PA LeWitt
Lafayette Clinic, Detroit, Mich.
The authors compared CSF amino acid levels of 10 patients with mild to
moderate dementia and probable Alzheimer's disease who had never received
antidepressant or neuroleptic medication with those of 10 normal subjects
of similar age. The Alzheimer's patients had significantly higher levels of
CSF glutamate. This finding was not related to age, sex, or severity of
dementia. Elevated CSF glutamate may reflect greater glutamatergic activity
early in the course of Alzheimer's disease. The authors speculate that the
excitotoxic effects of glutamate may contribute to progressive neuronal
loss in Alzheimer's disease.
