CERULOPLASMIN IS INCREASED IN CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID IN ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE BUT NOT PARKINSONS-DISEASE

Although the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson 's disease (PD) is unknown, altered brain antioxidative mechanisms hav e been found in both disorders. Ceruloplasmin (CP) and transferrin (TF ) interact to limit concentrations of free ferrous iron (Fe2+), and th us play an important role in antioxidant defense in serum; both protei ns are also produced in brain, where their significance as antioxidant s is unknown. We quantified concentrations of CP and TF by immunoassay in AD (n = 17) and PD (n = 12) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to determine whether these proteins could serve as disease markers. CP was increas ed versus aged normal subjects (n = 11) in AD (p < 0.05) but not PD CS F, whereas TF concentrations did not differ between groups. CP levels have been reported to be elevated in some brain regions in AD, and inc reased CP in AD CSF may reflect this finding. Systemic inflammation an d oxidative stress are major factors stimulating hepatic CP synthesis, and it remains to be determined whether increased CP concentrations i n AD CSF and brain follow from similar mechanisms.