Abstract
It is generally agreed that degeneration of cholinergic projections from the basal forebrain to the neocortex and hippocampus is an early and uniform feature of Alzheimer’s disease (Whitehouse et al., 1982; Coyle et al., 1983; Sims et al., 1983), although other transmitter systems may also be affected (Davies and Terry, 1981; Rossor, 1982). The basis for the selective vulnerability of certain cholinergic neurons is not clear, but it may result from a competition for free choline between biochemical pathways leading to the synthesis of phospholipids and acetylcholine (Wurtman et al., 1985; Jenden, 1986). This competition can only occur in cholinergic cells, and could be precipitated by a variety of inherited nutritional and environmental factors. It is likely to be age-related and might lead to a failure of synaptic transmission, of mechanisms for membrane renewal or both.
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© 1989 Birkhäuser Verlag
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Jenden, D.J. et al. (1989). Effects of chronic in vivo replacement of choline with a false cholinergic precursor. In: Frotscher, M., Misgeld, U. (eds) Central Cholinergic Synaptic Transmission. Experientia Supplementum, vol 57. Birkhäuser Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-9138-7_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-9138-7_23
Publisher Name: Birkhäuser Basel
Print ISBN: 978-3-0348-9922-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-0348-9138-7
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