Cerebrospinal fluid endothelin-1 in Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia of Alzheimer type.

We have measured the endothelin-1 concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid samples from 5 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), 6 patients with senile dementia of Alzheimer type (SDAT) and 7 patients with other diseases without dementia (disease control: DC). The cerebrospinal fluid endothelin-1 level was significantly lower in AD than in DC. No correlation was observed between cerebrospinal fluid endothelin-1 concentration and any other factors such as age, duration from onset, systolic blood pressure, cerebrospinal fluid protein level or plasma endothelin-1 concentration in AD or SDAT. These results suggest a possible alteration of the endothelin-1 system in the central nervous system in Alzheimer's disease.