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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Clive Ballard, Dr Margaret Piggott, Emeritus Professor Robert Perry, Professor Ian McKeith, Dr Evelyn Jaros, Emeritus Professor Elaine Perry
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The relation between disturbances of cholinergic neurotransmission and delusions (DELs) has not been investigated in degenerative dementias such as dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). A cohort of dementia patients were assessed with standardized clinical evaluations (including the Columbia University Scale for Psychopathology in Alzheimer's Disease), which were repeated annually until death. DLB was confirmed neuropathologically in 21 patients. Neurochemical evaluation included M1 receptor autoradiography (pirenzepine binding), biochemical measurement of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) histochemistry in brain regions hypothesized to be involved in the genesis of psychosis. Compared with II age-matched controls, ChAT and pirenzepine levels were most extensively reduced in the temporal and parietal neocortex of DLB patients. In Brodmann area 36, DELs were significantly associated with elevated pirenzepine binding (131.0 vs 93.5, t = 2.7), whereas visual hallucinations were associated with significant reductions in ChAT (1.7 vs 2.5, t = 2.5). There were no significant associations with other areas or with cholinesterase. Although DELs and visual hallucinations were both linked with disturbances in cholinergic neurotransmission, the nature of the associations was different. Upregulation of the postsynaptic muscarinic receptor may be central in the genesis of DELs, with important treatment implications.
Author(s): Ballard C, Piggott M, Johnson M, Cairns N, Perry R, McKeith I, Jaros E, O'Brien J, Holmes C, Perry E
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Annals of Neurology
Year: 2000
Volume: 48
Issue: 6
Pages: 868-876
ISSN (print): 0364-5134
ISSN (electronic): 1531-8249
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing
