Summary
The activity of the acetylcholine synthesizing enzyme choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) (presynaptic marker) and number of muscarine-like receptor binding sites have been measured in the hippocampus from eight individuals with senile dementia of Alzheimer type (SDAT) and ten controls. A negative correlation (r=0.80; p<0.05) was found between the ChAT activity and the number of muscarine-like receptors in the SDAT group but not in the controls. The findings might indicate an ongoing compensatory receptor mechanism as a response to changes in presynaptic cholinergic activity.
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Nordberg, A., Larsson, C., Adolfsson, R. et al. Muscarinic receptor compensation in hippocampus of Alzheimer patients. J. Neural Transmission 56, 13–19 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01243370
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01243370