Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

C G Gottfries

Publications and source records attributed to C G Gottfries.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Cholecystokinin peptides and receptor binding in Alzheimer's disease.

Cholecystokinin (CCK) is a peptide that can be found in the cerebral cortex in high concentrations and is involved in learning and memory as well as neurodegenerative processes. Cortical brain samples from 9 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 9 matched control cases were studied with respect to the concentrations of various molecular forms of CCK and the CCK receptor binding characteristics. No differences were found between patients and controls in any of these measures. Significant correlations were found between the concentrations of CCK-8 sulphated and the three nonsulphated CCK peptides measured. In addition, the concentrations of CCK-4 and CCK-5 showed a highly significant and positive correlation.

Age of Onset↗
PubMed1996

Influence of vitamin B12 on brain methionine adenosyltransferase activity in senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

The influence of vitamin B12 on the activity of methionine adenosyltransferase (MAT) in postmortem brains of patients with senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type (SDAT) was investigated. In samples of cortex gyrus frontalis from SDAT patients with normal and low levels of serum B12, MAT Vmax was significantly increased by 25% and 19%, respectively. MAT Vmax from a SDAT group chronically treated with B12 was similar to controls. In contrast to cortex gyrus frontalis, no significant alterations were seen in MAT activity in nucleus caudatus. This study provides evidence that SDAT is associated with significant alterations in transmethylation mechanisms in specific regions of the brain. The relationship between blood levels of B12 and the actual status of this vitamin in the brain influencing the rates of synthesis of both methionine and SAM may, however, be far more complex and cannot be directly clarified on the basis of the present human brain results.

Age of Onset↗
PubMed1996

Membrane components separate early-onset Alzheimer's disease from senile dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Brain tissue from 12 subjects with pure Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 21 subjects with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT) was investigated for membrane lipids and compared with that in age-matched controls. In brain tissue from the patients with AD, phospholipids were significantly decreased compared with that from SDAT patients and controls, cholesterol was reduced compared with that in controls, and gangliosides were significantly reduced in all gray-matter areas investigated compared with those in both SDAT subjects and controls. A reduction in gangliosides also occurred in the SDAT group, but it was smaller. In the white matter, the pattern of changes was the opposite. Phospholipids, cholesterol, cerebroside, and sulfatide were significantly reduced in the frontal-lobe white matter in the SDAT group compared with that in age-matched controls and AD patients. Gangliosides in the cerebrospinal fluid also separated AD from SDAT and controls. The findings indicate synapse degeneration as an important pathogenetic factor in AD. This disorder should be separated from SDAT, in which white-matter degeneration appears to be more prominent.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Long-term treatment of elderly individuals with emotional disturbances: an open study with citalopram.

In the present open study, the long-term safety, tolerability, and efficacy of citalopram in the treatment of elderly people with emotional disturbances were studied. One hundred twenty-three elderly patients with symptoms of depression-anxiety were included. Most of the patients (76%) were demented. Fifty-two patients completed a 12-month treatment. Irritability, depressed mood, anxiety, restlessness, and fear-panic were significantly reduced. The severity of illness from baseline to Month 9 was rated as significantly improved. The side effects were infrequent and mostly mild.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1996

Reductions in membrane proteins and lipids in basal ganglia of classic Alzheimer disease patients.

Gangliosides and major membrane components were determined in caudate nucleus, putamen, and hippocampus of 12 cases with Alzheimer disease (AD) type I, also termed presenile or pure AD, and in age-matched controls. The concentration of gangliosides, a marker for axodendritic arborization, was reduced to 71% in caudate nucleus, 82% in putamen, and 66% in hippocampus of that in the controls. Significant diminution of total dry solids, protein, and phospholipids was also found in caudate nucleus and was most pronounced in hippocampus. The early signs of extrapyramidal features have been emphasized in AD type I. We now provide evidence that the neostriatum is affected in AD type I (the putamen, however, to a lesser extent than the caudate nucleus). The biochemical changes in these nuclei can be significantly related to scores of impairment of motor performance.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Scandinavian experience with citalopram in the elderly.

Depression is a common disorder among the elderly. Its prevalence is estimated at 12-15%. A multifactorial genesis must be considered. Depression in the elderly often manifests itself in an atypical way, with a somatized clinical picture. As tricyclics are generally too toxic for elderly people, the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) must be considered in this patient group. Citalopram is an SSRI drug with an attractive pharmacokinetic profile, i.e. few side effects and a low potential for interaction with other drugs. In two inter-Nordic studies, this drug significantly improved emotional disturbances in patients with dementia disorders. Significant improvement, with a response rate of 53%, was also seen in elderly people with depression as assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Sixty-six per cent of these patients also suffered from physical illness and had other drug treatment. The drug was well tolerated.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1996

Stepwise comparative status analysis (STEP): a tool for identification of regional brain syndromes in dementia.

A method for clinical examination of patients with dementia, stepwise comparative status analysis (STEP), is presented. It combines psychiatric and neurologic status examination methods to identify certain common dementia symptoms by which the patient's regional brain symptom profile can be determined. Fifty status variables (items) are estimated with respect to occurrence and severity. The analysis is performed in three steps. The scores on the 'primary' variables reflect observations of single dementia symptoms. These scores form the basis for the assessment of the 'compound' variables, which in turn form the basis for evaluation of the 'complex' variables, one of which describes the patient's regional (predominant) brain syndrome (subcortical, frontosubcortical, frontal, frontoparietal, parietal, or global). In 96 mildly and moderately demented inpatients, the global (42%) and frontosubcortical (31%) were the most common. Ninety-one percent of the patients with vascular dementia had a predominant frontal and/or subcortical symptomatology.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Neuropeptides and Alzheimer's disease.

Numerous neuropeptides have been isolated from the human brain and postulated as neurotransmitter candidates. Their biochemical characteristics and anatomical distribution have been elucidated in some detail, but their possible physiological and pathophysiological roles, as well as their utility as diagnostic markers in brain disorders, have been more difficult to establish. The concentrations of several neuropeptides have been measured in postmortem human brain studies and in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Here we critically review these findings with focus on: (1) the relation between brain tissue and CSF neuropeptide alterations; (2) the specificity of neuropeptide alterations in Alzheimer's disease in relation to other degenerative brain diseases; (3) possible functional implications.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1995

Activities of daily living ratings of elderly people using Katz' ADL Index and the GBS-M scale.

Instruments for measuring activities of daily living (ADL) are useful in estimating institutionalized elderly ill people's need of care. The aim of the present study was to investigate to what extent the GBS-M scale measures ADL status, as determined by Katz' ADL Index. Forty-two elderly patients in long-term care in a psychiatric hospital were rated independently using each of the two scales. The correlation coefficient between results of the ratings was r = 0.93, i.e., high scores on one of the scales gave high scores on the other scale. Fifty per cent of severely demented patients had maximal scores on measures of ADL.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1994

Regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in dementia disorders.

In 163 patients with dementia disorders, subdivided into Alzheimer's disease with early onset (AD; n = 40), senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT; n = 56), vascular dementia (VAD; n = 45) and dementia of unspecified type (NUD; n = 22) the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was performed. The patients were rated according to the DSM-III-R criteria as having mild, moderate or severe dementia and were also assessed using the GBS scale which gives a profile of the dementia syndrome. In the total group of dementia there were significant correlations between severity of dementia and post-DST levels. The frequency of pathological DST also correlated significantly with the severity of dementia. In the subgroups of dementia a strong correlation between severity of dementia and high post-DST cortisol levels was found only in the VAD group. Between the subgroups of dementia disorders there were no significant differences in basal cortisol levels. The percentage of pathological DST was lowest in the AD group (40%). It was somewhat higher in the VAD group (49%), still higher in the SDAT group (54%) and highest in the NUD group (59%). When the relationship between post-DST cortisol levels and GBS scores was analyzed, significant correlations were found mainly in the VAD group. There intellectual impairment, anxiety, fear-panic and restlessness correlated significantly with post-DST cortisol levels. The results indicate hypothalamic overactivity in a substantial number of demented patients. In VAD and to a certain extent also in SDAT a disconnection between cortical areas, including the hippocampus, and the hypothalamus is assumed. Overactivity in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is due to stress, and an insufficient feedback system leads to chronic stress adaptation failure.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Evidence for biochemical heterogeneity in schizophrenia: a multivariate study of monoaminergic indices in human post-mortal brain tissue.

A previously performed post-mortem study comparing monoaminergic indices in the brains of 14 schizophrenic patients and 10 patients with psychosis not diagnosed as schizophrenia, with age-matched control cases without any known neuropsychiatric illness, was re-investigated, using multivariate analysis. The monoaminergic patterns showing up in this analysis suggested the existence of at least two different forms of the disease, both of which could be distinguished from the controls as well as from each other. One of the schizophrenic groups consisted of paranoid cases, and had a relatively mild family history, whereas the other group, mainly consisting of hebephrenic cases, had a severe family history. The former group showed low levels of dopamine and high levels of serotonergic precursor and metabolite, whereas the latter group in some respects tended to show the opposite aberrations. Neuroleptic treatment did not seem to account for the different biochemical profiles, unless one assumes that this treatment can cause completely different monoaminergic aberrations in different individuals. Instead, one could argue that the different biochemical profiles found are characteristic of the disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Homocysteinemia and schizophrenia as a case of methylation deficiency.

A 27-year-old woman is described whose disorder meets the DSM-III-R criteria for a diagnosis of schizophrenia and who was found to have a significantly increased serum level of homocysteine. Repeatedly, she improved on frequent cobalamin injections and deteriorated in periods without treatment. The effects of prolonged weekly treatment appeared to diminish as time went on, suggesting that the abnormality was not wholly cobalamin-dependent. It was found that methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MR) activity in cultured skin fibroblasts was reduced to a magnitude that is found among people with heterozygous deficiency. A defect in MR activity indicates a deficiency in methyltetrahydrofolate (MTHF), with a consequent reduction of the remethylation of homocysteine to methionine. Thus, reduced methylation may explain the increased levels of homocysteine and the transient effects of cobalamin treatment in the patient. Theoretically, MTHF should be the optimal treatment for her. The case reported highlights the importance of assessing the serum homocysteine level in order to detect methylation deficiency in patients with schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Formulas for the quantitation of intrathecal IgG production. Their validity in the presence of blood-brain barrier damage and their utility in multiple sclerosis.

There are several formulas for the quantitative determination of intrathecal IgG production: Reiber and Felgenhauer's formula (IgG(loc)), the Extended IgG index, Tourtellotte's formula (TOURT), Schuller and Sagar's formula (SCHULL), the IgG index, the Log IgG index, and Blennow and co-workers' formula (IGGPROD). To evaluate the utility of these formulas in the presence of blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage, we present the results from a study of serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 125 healthy individuals, 18-88 years of age; 1072 consecutive patients without oligoclonal IgG bands (OCBs) in the CSF, 683 without BBB damage (CSF/S: albumin ratio < 9.8) and 389 with BBB damage (CSF/S albumin ratio 9.8-30); and 106 patients with definite multiple sclerosis (MS). The relation between the CSF/S albumin ratio and the CSF/S IgG ratio was remarkably linear in both healthy individuals (r = 0.95; P < 0.0001) and patients without oligoclonal bands in the CSF (r = 0.95; P < 0.0001). Therefore, IgG(loc) and the Extended IgG index, two formulas based on a nonlinear relation between the CSF/S albumin ratio and the CSF/S IgG ratio, yielded biased results (lower values) in the presence of BBB damage. TOURT and SCHULL also yielded biased (higher) values in the presence of BBB damage, probably because of incorrect constants in these formulas. There were no significant correlations between the CSF/S albumin ratio (i.e. the BBB function) and the IgG index or the Log IgG index, two dimensionless quotients for the detection of intrathecal IgG production, or between the CSF/S albumin ratio and IGGPROD, an empirical formula for the determination of intrathecal IgG production in mg/l.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗