BACKGROUND: Mild hypercortisolemia is a frequent concomitant of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In an effort to ascertain the relationship between serum cortisol concentration (CORT) and disease progression, aging, and survival, we followed 9 persons with AD, ages from 56 to 84 years, from an original cohort of 19 enrollees with serial cognitive testing and CORT determinations. METHODS: The cognitive instrument was a modification of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive (mADAS-COG). Serum cortisol determinations were performed at noon, and an Afternoon Cortisol Test (ACT) was used to obtain an estimate of average CORT. RESULTS: Baseline 12:00 hours CORT but not ACT correlated significantly with the change in mADAS-COG (r = .90, p < .01). ACT levels increased as the mADAS-COG increased over time (p = .037), by 0.156 +/- 0.06 microgram/dL for each one-point increase (indicating greater impairment) in cognitive test score. ACT levels did not increase significantly simply with aging. For the entire cohort of 19 subjects, neither baseline ACT nor 12:00 hours CORT was significantly related to survival. CONCLUSIONS: Hypercortisolemia in AD appears related to the clinical progression of the disease, but not to aging or length of survival.
BACKGROUND: Mild hypercortisolemia is a frequent concomitant of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In an effort to ascertain the relationship between serum cortisol concentration (CORT) and disease progression, aging, and survival, we followed 9 persons with AD, ages from 56 to 84 years, from an original cohort of 19 enrollees with serial cognitive testing and CORT determinations. METHODS: The cognitive instrument was a modification of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive (mADAS-COG). Serum cortisol determinations were performed at noon, and an Afternoon Cortisol Test (ACT) was used to obtain an estimate of average CORT. RESULTS: Baseline 12:00 hours CORT but not ACT correlated significantly with the change in mADAS-COG (r = .90, p < .01). ACT levels increased as the mADAS-COG increased over time (p = .037), by 0.156 +/- 0.06 microgram/dL for each one-point increase (indicating greater impairment) in cognitive test score. ACT levels did not increase significantly simply with aging. For the entire cohort of 19 subjects, neither baseline ACT nor 12:00 hours CORT was significantly related to survival. CONCLUSIONS: Hypercortisolemia in AD appears related to the clinical progression of the disease, but not to aging or length of survival.
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Authors: H Akiyama; S Barger; S Barnum; B Bradt; J Bauer; G M Cole; N R Cooper; P Eikelenboom; M Emmerling; B L Fiebich; C E Finch; S Frautschy; W S Griffin; H Hampel; M Hull; G Landreth; L Lue; R Mrak; I R Mackenzie; P L McGeer; M K O'Banion; J Pachter; G Pasinetti; C Plata-Salaman; J Rogers; R Rydel; Y Shen; W Streit; R Strohmeyer; I Tooyoma; F L Van Muiswinkel; R Veerhuis; D Walker; S Webster; B Wegrzyniak; G Wenk; T Wyss-Coray Journal: Neurobiol Aging Date: 2000 May-Jun Impact factor: 4.673
Authors: L Chouliaras; A S R Sierksma; G Kenis; J Prickaerts; M A M Lemmens; I Brasnjevic; E L van Donkelaar; P Martinez-Martinez; M Losen; M H De Baets; N Kholod; F van Leeuwen; P R Hof; J van Os; H W M Steinbusch; D L A van den Hove; B P F Rutten Journal: Int J Alzheimers Dis Date: 2010-10-05