ENDOGENOUS OPIOIDS IN FRONTAL-CORTEX OF PATIENTS WITH DOWN-SYNDROME

The main purpose of this study was to investigate differences regardin g endogenous opioids in post-mortem frontal cortex of adult patients w ith Down syndrome (DS), patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) and neuro logically healthy persons, respectively, using specific radioimmunoass ays. The results of this study show that there is an increase in the l evels of leu-enkephalin and dynorphin A in the frontal cortex of patie nts with DS as compared to the control group. An almost identical incr ease was also observed when comparing patients with AD to controls. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest a relationship between elevated tissue levels of leu-enkephalin and dynorphin A in cerebral c ortex and cognitive impairments in patients with DS and AD.