Coenzyme Q, Vitamin E and Apo-E alleles in Alzheimer Disease.

Neurodegenerative Diseases represent the most common cause of Dementia, about 5-10% of the population aged above 65 years and about 30% above 80 years. A study about Apo-E alleles, Coenzyme Q and Vitamins E as biological indicators was performed in plasma samples of patients aged from 30 to 85 years, affected by Neurodegenerative Diseases. The results were compared with control subjects of approximately the same ages as the reference group. A frequency of 21.7% of epsilon4 allele in control group was estimated, against 15.8% observed in patients. The frequency of epsilon2 and epsilon3 alleles was 13.0% and 65.2% in the control group against 10.5% and 73.7% in patients. No significant differences were observed between the frequency of epsilon3/epsilon3 genotype and epsilon3/epsilon4 genotype in the control group compared to patients' group. The frequencies observed in epsilon2/epsilon3 genotype groups were 8.7% vs 15.8% and of e2/e4 genotype 17.4% vs 5.3%. The epsilon2/epsilon2 and epsilon4/epsilon4 genotypes were not identified in any groups. Plasma CoQ10 concentrations were similar in patient and control groups and no differences were found even taking into account the distribution of male and female subjects in the two groups. Also, vitamin E did not provide evidence of any differences between groups and the analysis among sexes revealed that again vitamin E concentrations were similar in between subgroups.

Effect of in vivo administration of naloxone on ATP-ase's enzyme systems of synaptic plasma membranes from rat cerebral cortex.

Naloxone is a specific competitive antagonist of morphine, acting on opiate receptors, located on neuronal membranes. The effects of in vivo administration of naloxone on energy-consuming non-mitochondrial ATP-ases were studied in two different types of synaptic plasma membranes from rat cerebral cortex, known to contain a high density of opiate receptors. The enzyme activities of Na+, K(+)-ATP-ase, Ca(2+), Mg(2+)-ATP-ase and Mg(2+)-ATP-ase and of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were evaluated on synaptic plasma membranes obtained from control and treated animals with effective dose of naloxone (12microg x kg(-1) i.m. 30 minutes). In control (vehicle-treated) animals specific enzyme activities assayed on these two types of synaptic plasma membranes are different, being higher on synaptic plasma membranes of II type than of I type, because the first fraction is more enriched in synaptic plasma membranes. The acute treatment with naloxone produced a significant decrease in Ca(2+),Mg(2+)-ATP-ase activity and an increase in AChE activity, only in synaptic plasma membranes of II type. The decrease of Ca(2+), Mg(2+)-ATP-ase enzymatic activity and the increased AChE activity are related to the interference of the drug on Ca(2+) homeostasis in synaptosoplasm, that leads to the activation of calcium-dependent processes, i.e. the extrusion of neurotransmitter. These findings give further evidence that pharmacodynamic characteristics of naloxone are also related to increase [Ca(2+)]i, interfering with enzyme systems (Ca(2+), Mg(2+)-ATP-ase) and that this drug increases acetylcholine catabolism in synaptic plasma membranes of cerebral cortex.

[Autoantibodies against oxidised low density lipoproteins in patients with coronary disease]. / Autoanticorps contre les lipoprotéines de basse densité oxydées chez des patients coronariens.

OBJECTIVES: Evidence has been obtained indicating that oxidation of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) plays a relevant role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and it has been proposed that, due to the antigenic properties of oxidized LDL, the anti-oxLDL antibody titre could represent a useful index of in vivo LDL oxidation. METHODS: Sixty-nine control subjects and 64 patients scheduled for selective coronary revascularization were investigated before surgery. RESULTS: The coronary disease patients had a higher level of total plasma cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and a lower level of HDL cholesterol. Plasma anti-oxLDL antibody titre was measured as the ratio of antibody binding to CuSO4-oxidised LDL versus native LDL. The antibody ratio was higher in coronary patients as compared with control subjects (1.56 +/- 0.5 vs 1.0 +/- 0.3, p < 0.01). A ratio higher than 1.34 (mean of controls +/- one standard deviation) was present in 60% of the coronary patients. Subclass analysis indicated that the presence of diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolaemia (but not of hypertension, generalized arteriosclerosis, myocardial infarction and cigarette smoking) increased the anti-oxLDL antibody ratio to 1.72 +/- 0.4 and 1.68 +/- 0.3 respectively. CONCLUSION: The results obtained indicate that a) a high titre of anti-oxLDL antibodies is present in plasma of patients with coronary atherosclerosis, b) in these patients LDL oxidation takes place in vivo and probably plays a critical role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis.