Plasma cortisol levels in elderly female subjects with Alzheimer's disease: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study
Umegaki, H.; Ikari, H.; Nakahata, H.; Endo, H.; Suzuki, Y.; Ogawa, O.; Nakamura, A.; Yamamoto, T.; Iguchi, A., 2000: Plasma cortisol levels in elderly female subjects with Alzheimer's disease: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study. Brain Research 881(2): 241-243, 27 October
We investigated the plasma cortisol levels at a fasting state in elderly female Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VD), and non-demented subjects (n=66, 28 and 21, respectively). Twenty-eight AD subjects were followed for 40 months. The plasma cortisol levels in AD and VD subjects were significantly higher than those of non-demented subjects at baseline. In AD subjects in relatively early stages of the disease [Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)], at baseline, high plasma cortisol led to rapid declines in MMSE scores over a 40-month period.