Treatment of Alzheimer's disease with clioquinol.

• As heavy metal ions may be implicated in the formation of senile plaques in Alzheimer-afflicted brains, treatment with clioquinol was tested in 20 patients with Alzheimer's disease. Clioquinol is a chelator that crosses the blood-brain barrier and has greater affinity for zinc and copper ions than for calcium and magnesium ions. Treatment was given for 21 days at doses of 20 mg/day to 10 patients and 80 mg/day to another 10 patients. The study was blind to the dosages but included no controls. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) investigations revealed a significant increase at day 7 and a decrease at day 21 in Tau protein and growth-associated protein (GAP43). These proteins are increased in Alzheimer's disease and considered as rather stable markers. The initial increase may indicate a temporary cytotoxicity to the brain and/or an increased release into the CSF from stores in the tissue, possibly from senile plaques where the proteins are accumulated. The levels of CSF-Tau protein correlated positively and significantly with the serum levels of copper and also with the serum copper/zinc ratio. Clinical ratings showed slight improvement after 3 weeks treatment with clioquinol in this open study.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Neurovetenskaper (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Neurosciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Aged

Aged

80 and over

Alzheimer Disease

blood

cerebrospinal fluid

drug therapy

Chelating Agents

administration & dosage

adverse effects

therapeutic use

Chelation Therapy

methods

Clioquinol

administration & dosage

adverse effects

therapeutic use

Copper

blood

Dose-Response Relationship

Drug

Female

GAP-43 Protein

cerebrospinal fluid

drug effects

Humans

Male

Middle Aged

Treatment Outcome

Zinc

blood

tau Proteins

cerebrospinal fluid

drug effects

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)