DECREASED CONCENTRATIONS OF GLUT1 AND GLUT3 GLUCOSE TRANSPORTERS IN THE BRAINS OF PATIENTS WITH ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE

Glucose metabolism is depressed in the temporal and parietal regions o f the cortex in patients with Alzheimer's disease. We measured the con centrations of two glucose transporters, GLUT1 and GLUT3, in six regio ns of brains from both control subjects and patients with Alzheimer's disease. The concentrations of both transporters were reduced in the c erebral cortex, with larger and highly significant reductions observed for GLUT3, the putative neuronal glucose transporter. The reductions in GLUT3 were greater than the loss of synapses, and should be conside red as a potential cause of the deficits in glucose metabolism.