Antihistone and anti-dsDNA autoantibodies in Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

In order to evaluate their prevalence in senile dementias, serum titer of antibodies against histones and double stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (dsDNA) were measured by means of the ELISA test in patients suffering from vascular dementia (VD), presenile Alzheimer's disease (AD), and senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type (SDAT). Only three subjects out of 87 had dsDNA autoantibodies. On the contrary, VD and SDAT showed high titers of antibodies against histones when compared to healthy controls. A significant relationship was also found between antihistone serum titer and degree of dementia in AD. Results were not influenced by gender, age, or duration of illness. Presence of antihistone antibodies in dementias might reflect an alteration of membrane fluidity and integrity with leakage of nuclear immunogens or disturbances of immune functions, as frequently observed in dementia disorders.