Cerebrospinal fluid levels of selenium in patients with Alzheimer's disease

Summary.

We compared CSF and serum selenium levels, measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, in 27 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (13 females, 14 males, mean ± SD age 73.6 ± 7.4 years) without major clinical signs of undernutrition, and 34 matched controls (18 females, 16 males, mean ± SD age 70.7 ± 7.8 years). CSF and serum selenium levels did not differ significantly between AD-patient (11.4 ± 7.8 ng/ml and 28.5 ± 13.0 ng/ml, respectively) and control groups (13.3 ± 7.0 ng/ml and 22.5 ± 17.5 ng/ml). These values were not correlated with age, age at onset, duration of the disease, and scores of the MiniMental State Examination in the AD group. Weight and body mass index were significantly lower in AD patients than in controls. These results suggest that CSF selenium concentrations are apparently unrelated with the reported oxidative stress processes in patients with AD.