CSF SOMATOSTATIN IN ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE AND MAJOR DEPRESSION - RELATIONSHIP TO HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS AND CLINICAL MEASURES

Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and major depression have been shown to have overlapping clinical symptoms and biological markers, in cluding decreased concentrations of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) somatost atin-like immunoreactivity (SLI), which may be related to alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. As in prior studi es, we found that CSF SLI was significantly decreased in a group of AD patients (N = 49) and a group of elderly patients with major depressi on (N = 18), as compared with 13 age-matched controls (F[2, 77] = 12.9 , p < .001). In the present study, CSF SLI and CSF corticotropin-relea sing factor correlated significantly within the group of AD patients ( r = 0.49, p < .0004) and almost attained significance in the depressed patients (r = 0.47, p < .07). CSF SLI correlated significantly with u rinary free cortisol within each patient group (r = -0.51, p < .03). C linical measures of dementia severity and depression did not consisten tly correlate with CSF SLI in either patient group.