Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, Vol 50, Issue 4 B201-B204, Copyright © 1995 by The Gerontological Society of America
Basal and activated intracellular calcium ion concentrations in mononuclear cells of Alzheimer's disease and unipolar depression
A Adunsky, A Diver-Haber, D Becker and M Hershkowitz
Dementia Clinic, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel.
We present the results of a case control study on the concentration of
intracellular calcium [Ca+2]i in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC)
of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), major affective disorder
unipolar type (DEP), and elderly controls. We used the fluorescent dye
Quin-2 to measure intracellular calcium concentration in PBMC both in their
basal resting state [Ca+2]b and after activation [Ca+2]a with
phytohemagglutinin (PHA). The [Ca+2]b and [Ca+2]a values in PBMC of AD
patients were significantly higher than those of the elderly controls and
of the DEP patients. In the DEP patients the [Ca+2]a values in PBMC were
significantly higher than those of the elderly controls, but the [Ca+2]b
values were not. [Ca+2]i levels did not correlate with age, gender, or
duration and severity of the diseases investigated. These findings indicate
that higher values of [Ca+2]b and [Ca+2]a may differentiate most AD
patients from elderly controls or DEP patients.
