Cholinergic receptor binding and autoradiography in brains of non-neurological and senile dementia of Alzheimer-type patients.

Muscarinic and nicotinic cholinergic receptor distribution was studied by dry-mount autoradiography in brains obtained postmortem from patients with senile dementia of Alzheimer-type (SDAT) and non-neurological controls. Sections were incubated with either [N-methyl-3H]scopolamine, ([3H]NMS) or [125I]alpha-bungarotoxin, ([125I]alpha-BTX). No significant difference in the affinity and number of muscarinic and nicotinic receptors was found in hippocampus, frontal, temporal and cingulate cortex between SDAT patients and non-neurological controls. However, some SDAT cases showed diffuse instead of laminar [3H]NMS labeling in cortical regions. The labeling pattern was not affected by the presence of neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.