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Systemic manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease

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Abstract

Several lines of evidence indicate that tissues other than the brain are also affected in Alzheimer’s disease. The protein precursor of the characteristic brain amyloid is expressed at the level of mRNA in most tissues. A large number of studies have shown a variety of abnormalities in different Alzheimer tissues compared to those from matched cognitively intact controls. A group of studies suggest the existence of a generalized membrane abnormality in Alzheimer’s disease, identified in red cells and platelets using biophysical techniques as well as in studies of transport. Cellular calcium homeostasis appears to be abnormal in Alzheimer’s disease, in cultured cells from skin and in lymphocytes as well as in the affected neurons. Metabolic abnormalities in glucose oxidation are well documented in Alzheimer’s brain in vivo, and abnormalities in these processes have also been found in ex vivo studies of brain biopsies and in studies of cultured cells from skin. A recent observation that skin cells grown under special conditions express antigens normally associated with the brain — and that Alzheimer cells from skin can make antigens reacting with antibodies to paired helical filaments — strengthens the hypothesis that changes observed in the peripheral cells may be relevant to the brain. Mechanisms can be proposed to link the generalized cellular changes to damage of certain populations of neurones in Alzheimer brains. Future research on non-neural Alzheimer cells is likely to emphasize the search for abnormalities significant for cellular pathophysiology in Alzheimer’s disease and for means to ameliorate such abnormalities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dementia Research Service, Burke Rehabilitation Center, Cornell University Medical College, 785 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY, 10605

    Andrea C. Baker, Li-Wen Ko & John P. Blass

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  1. Andrea C. Baker
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  2. Li-Wen Ko
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  3. John P. Blass
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Baker, A.C., Ko, LW. & Blass, J.P. Systemic manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease. AGE 11, 60–65 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02431774

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