Clinical utility of copper, ceruloplasmin, and metallothionein plasma determinations in human neurodegenerative patients and their first-degree relatives

ARNAL, NATHALIE; DIANA OLGA CRISTALLI; MARÍA J.T. DE ALANIZ; CARLOS A. MARRA

BRAIN RESEARCH

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2009 vol. 1319 p. 118 - 130

0006-8993

The concentration of plasma copper, ceruloplasmin (CRP), non-ceruloplasmin-bound Cu(NCBC), and metallothioneins (MTs) were studied as putative biomarkers forneurodegenerative diseases in patients and in their first-degree relatives. We foundincreased levels of Cu in the plasma of Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD),and vascular dementia (VD) patients, and the increase observed in VD group was linked tothe evolution of the disease. CRP was also elevated in response to the inflammatorycomponent of the diseases, however, a correlation with illness progression was onlyobserved in VD patients. The level of MTs is proportional to the evolution of VD. The Cu/CRPand Cu/MTs ratios are both indicative of disease progression for AD patients but not for thosewith PD or VD. Moreover, there is a correlation between the NCBC levels and the cognitiveimpairment estimated through the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) scale. Thisdependence is linear for AD and PD patients and non-linear for the VD ones. The relativevalues of NCBC showed dependence on the disease duration, especially for AD. Coppermeasurement and the Cu/CRP ratio may be predictive markers of risk for the first-degreerelatives of AD patients. We believe that these results are valuable as a reliable clinical tool.