Reduced CSF CART in dementia with Lewy bodies.
Author
Summary, in English
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the second most common form of neurodegenerative dementia after Alzheimer's disease (AD). The underlying neurobiological mechanism of DLB is not fully understood and no generally accepted biomarkers are yet available for the diagnosis of DLB. In a recent MRI study, DLB patients displayed hypothalamic atrophy whereas this region was not affected in AD patients. Cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript (CART) is a neuropeptide expressed selectively in neurons in the hypothalamus. Here, we found that CSF CART levels were significantly reduced by 30% in DLB patients (n = 12) compared to controls (n = 12) as well as to AD patients (n = 14) using radioimmunoassay. Our preliminary results suggest that reduced CSF CART is a sign of hypothalamic dysfunction in DLB and that it may serve as a biomarker for this patient group.
Publishing year
2009
Language
English
Pages
104-106
Publication/Series
Neuroscience Letters
Volume
453
Issue
2
Full text
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Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Elsevier
Topic
- Neurosciences
Status
Published
Research group
- Translational Neuroendocrinology
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0304-3940