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Effect of CDP‐Choline on Cognition and Immune Function in Alzheimer's Disease and Multi‐Infarct Dementia a

1993; Wiley; Volume: 695; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1749-6632.1993.tb23076.x

1749-6632

Ramón Cacabelos, X.A. Alvarez, A. Franco-Maside, L. Fernández‐Novoa, José Carlos Caamaño,

Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

The cholinergic dysfunction present in Alzheimer's disease (AD) might be due to a specific vulnerability of cholinergic neurons linked to neurotrophic imbalance, neuroimmune impairment, and/or direct effects of β‐amyloid deposition and NFT formation in ACh neurons. The presence of abnormal epitopes exposed on neuronal membranes may contribute to the activation of resting microglia initiating a neuroimmune cascade leading to cell destruction. According to this hypothesis, a multifactorial treatment in AD should produce: 1) inhibition of β‐amyloid and NFT formation; 2) restoration of neuronal membrane integrity; and 3) control of neuroimmune auto‐aggression. Since interleukin‐1 (IL‐1) is an APP gene promoter showing a progressive increase in body fluids in parallel with mental deterioration in AD patients, we have studied the effects of CDP‐choline on cognition, several biological parameters, and IL‐1β production in AD and multi‐infarct dementia (MID) in order to elucidate whether this compound alone or in combination with other drugs is able to restore immune function and improve mental performance in senile dementia.