31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy in Alzheimer's and Pick's disease.

Previous studies have suggested a defect in phosphorus metabolism in Alzheimer's disease (AD) gray matter. We have studied phosphorus metabolites in both gray and white matter in autopsy specimens of nine subjects with late-stage AD, three with Pick's disease and seven age-matched controls. Phosphorus metabolites sugar phosphate (SU), phosphomonoester (PME), phosphodiester (PD), and inorganic phosphate (PI) were quantified as mole percentages in regional neocortical specimens using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Senile plaque (SP) and neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) counts were determined in adjacent cortical sections. In the inferior parietal lobule gray and white matter, mole percentage normalized PME, and PD were significantly greater than control values in both AD and Pick's disease. A significant correlation was found between PD and NFT in AD parietal gray matter. Our data indicates that phosphorus metabolite alterations are present in two cortical degenerative diseases and are not likely to be specific for AD.