LABORATORY EXAMINATIONS CORRELATED WITH SEVERITY OF DEMENTIA

Acetylcholine esterase, alpha 1-antichymotrypsin, homovanillic acid (H VA): 3-methoxy-4-hydoxy-phenylenglycol (MHPG), norepinephrine, dopamin e, 5-hydroxy-indolacetic acid (5-HIAA), and gamma-aminobutyric acid (G ABA) in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were quantified. Posit ive wave with the latency about 300 msec (P300) and electroencephalogr aphy (EEG) were examined in 10 patients with Alzheimer's disease, 10 p atients with vascular dementia, and 10 age-matched healthy controls. S erum alpha 1-antichymotrypsin concentrations were significantly higher in the Alzheimer's disease group than in the vascular dementia and he althy control groups. Homovanillic acid concentrations in CSF were sig nificantly lower in the vascular dementia group than in the Alzheimer' s disease and the healthy control groups. A significant positive corre lation was present between the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) sc ore (normal range of 24 to 30) and the acetylcholine esterase concentr ation in the CSF. Significant negative correlations were present betwe en the MMSE score and the P300 latency, between the MMSE score and the MHPG concentration in the CSF, between the MMSE and the norepinephrin e concentration in the CSF, and between the MMSE scare and the dopamin e concentration in the CSF.