Peptide histidine methionine in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Immunoreactivities (IRs) of peptide histidine methionine (PHM) as well as somatostatin and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were measured in patients with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT) and age-matched control subjects. We found statistically significant reductions in the PHM-IR and somatostatin-IR levels in the CSF from patients with SDAT, as compared with those of the controls. However, the VIP-IR level in the CSF from SDAT was not different from that of the controls. These results suggest that selective degeneration of neurons containing somatostatin and PHM or the alteration in metabolism of PHM in the CSF might occur in SDAT.