Biomedical subjects

A M Gillian

Publications and source records attributed to A M Gillian.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1994

Expression of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) in Alzheimer's disease.

Expression of the nerve cell adhesion molecule, NCAM, was examined in post-mortem brain samples from patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and from age-matched controls. Four major isoforms of NCAM were identified by Western blot analysis 195, 185, 145 and 120 kDa with no differences being observed in either the intensity of individual band staining or in the expression of the constituent NCAM isoforms in AD when compared with controls. Immunohistochemical staining revealed star-shaped NCAM-positive structures with numerous radiating 'processes' or a more protoplasmic shape with short and thick 'processes'. These structures were not obviously more abundant in AD and there was no NCAM immunoreactivity in neuritic plaques or neurofibrillary tangles. This evidence suggests there is no change in NCAM expression in AD.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A decrease in serum sialyltransferase levels in Alzheimer's disease.

A reliable antemortem serum marker for Alzheimer's disease (AD) would be of great importance for the early detection and subsequent therapeutic management of the disease. We have noted a significant decrease in serum levels of the soluble form of the sialyltransferase enzyme in a group of AD patients when compared with both age-matched elderly (over 60 years) and young (under 60 years) controls. In a population of Down's syndrome patients, who develop AD pathology with increasing age, there was an age-related decrease in serum sialyltransferase activity in patients from 20 to 60 years to approach enzyme levels similar to those observed in the AD group. This significant decrease in serum sialyltransferase levels observed may both prove a useful peripheral early biochemical marker of neurodegeneration and provide an indication of the underlying cellular events that occur during the process of nerve cell death in AD.

Adult↗