Serum ?1-antitrypsin and ?2-macroglobulin in Alzheimer's and Binswanger's disease

✍ Scribed by Wetterling, T. ;Tegtmeyer, K.F.

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 358 KB
• Volume: 72
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1432-1440
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00189310

✦ Synopsis

The deposition of 13A4-amyloid in senile plaques and small cerebral vessels is one of the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Recent data suggest that protease inhibitors such as ~2-macroglobulin may be involved in the process of forming 13A4 amyloid deposits. Compared to 34 persons without neurological diseases, the serum content of ~l-antitrypsin was increased in 16 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 15 with Binswanger's disease. In the latter ~2-macroglobulin was also elevated in serum. Our results show no evidence of a blood-borne origin of the protein or peptid deposited in the walls of small vessels in Alzheimer's or Binswanger's disease. Nevertheless, the elevated proteinase inhibitor concentrations may play a role in the pathogenesis of these diseases.