EFFECTS OF AGING AND DEMENTIA ON THE LEVELS OF THIOBARBITURIC-ACID-REACTIVE PRODUCTS STIMULATED BY L-GLUTAMIC ACID IN HUMAN AUTOPSY AND BIOPSY BRAIN-TISSUE

Basal and stimulated (by L-glutamic acid, GA) levels of thiobarbituric -acid-reactive products were estimated in the brain tissue (hippocampu s, cortex and cerebellum) from autopsy samples of people with Alzheime r disease (AD), multi-infarct dementia (MID) and from nondemented cont rol patients. The experiment was also performed on biopsy brain tissue (cortex) of nondemented controls. The biopsy brain tissue influenced by normal aging in vivo showed a limited susceptibility to undergo lip id peroxidation stimulated by GA in vitro in comparison with the young er tissue. A significant decrease in the ratio of stimulated to basal levels was found in the cerebellum of MID patients in comparison with nondemented controls and AD patients.