Serum α1-antichymotrypsin level as a marker for Alzheimer-type dementia

• Published in: Neurobiology of aging Vol. 16; no. 5; pp. 747 - 753
• Main Authors: Lieberman, Jack, Schleissner, Leopold, Tachiki, Ken H., Kling, Arthur S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Elsevier Inc 01.09.1995; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Alzheimer's disease; Asthma; Biological and medical sciences; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Geriatrics; Inflammation Radial immunodiffusion; Malignancy; Medical sciences; Neurology; α1-Antichymotrypsin; α1-Antitrypsin; α1-Antichymotrypsin; Inflammation Radial immunodiffusion; Malignancy; Alzheimer's disease; α1-Antitrypsin; Asthma; Geriatrics; Human; Nervous system diseases; Alzheimer disease; Degenerative disease; Diagnosis; Radial immunodiffusion; Inflammatory disease
• ISSN: 0197-4580; 1558-1497
• DOI: 10.1016/0197-4580(95)00056-K

Excessive α1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) in brain has been postulated to play a role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We measured serum ACT by radial immunodiffusion in 57 patients with presumed AD, 110 healthy controls (24 children; 86 adults), 67 non-AD patients from a geriatric private practice and a VA nursing home, and 136 asthmatics (56 adults; 80 children) as an inflammatory disease control group. Serum ACT was significantly higher in AD (73.1 ± 22 mg/dl) than in healthy controls (47.9 ± 8.1 mg/dl) or non-AD patients (61.8 ± 23.9 mg/dl). A level of 60 mg/dl best separated AD patients from controls or non-AD patients. Serial measurements served to distinguish elevations of ACT level in AD from non-AD inflammatory conditions; the ACT level in the latter returned to normal with therapy or time, but the levels in AD remained elevated. A measure of serum ACT by radial immunodiffusion can be used to support a diagnosis of AD disease but not necessarily as a screening test due to the potentially large number of false positives (26% in the population studied) should malignancy or inflammatory disease be concurrent.