Abstract
The prevalence of glucocorticoid hypersecretion and the loss of hippocampal inhibition of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in Alzheimer type dementia (ATD) underlie the 'glucocorticoid cascade' hypothesis for a neuroendocrine definition of aging. Therefore we measured, in mild to moderate demented patients, plasma B-endorphin and cortisol levels, which, in 41% of the subjects were both higher than 2 SD of mean control values. The treatment with Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALC) normalized the highest values, while piracetam did not. The possibilities that this effect is due to the cholinergic activity of ALC and/or its action in preventing the loss of hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors after cold stress are suggested.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 291-292 |
Number of pages | 2 |
Journal | Medical Science Research |
Volume | 16 |
Issue number | 6 |
Publication status | Published - 1988 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Medicine(all)