Salivary Acetylcholinesterase Activity Is Increased in Parkinson’s Disease: A Potential Marker of Parasympathetic Dysfunction

Introduction. Decreased salivary flow and xerostomia are frequent findings in Parkinson’s disease (PD), possibly caused by alterations in the parasympathetic tonus. Here we explore salivary acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity as a potential biomarker in PD. Methods. We measured salivary flow, AChE...

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Main Authors: Tatyana Fedorova, Cindy Soendersoe Knudsen, Kim Mouridsen, Ebba Nexo, Per Borghammer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015-01-01
Series:Parkinson's Disease
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/156479
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author Tatyana Fedorova
Cindy Soendersoe Knudsen
Kim Mouridsen
Ebba Nexo
Per Borghammer
author_facet Tatyana Fedorova
Cindy Soendersoe Knudsen
Kim Mouridsen
Ebba Nexo
Per Borghammer
author_sort Tatyana Fedorova
collection DOAJ
description Introduction. Decreased salivary flow and xerostomia are frequent findings in Parkinson’s disease (PD), possibly caused by alterations in the parasympathetic tonus. Here we explore salivary acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity as a potential biomarker in PD. Methods. We measured salivary flow, AChE activity, and total protein concentration in 30 PD patients and 49 healthy controls. We also performed exploratory correlation analyses with disease duration, motor symptom severity, autonomic complaints, and other nonmotor symptoms. Results. PD patients displayed significantly decreased salivary flow rate, significantly increased salivary AChE activity, and total protein concentration. Importantly, the AChE activity/total protein ratio was significantly increased in PD patients, suggesting that increased AChE activity cannot be explained solely by upconcentration of saliva. The Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) score displayed significant correlation with total salivary protein (P=0.002) and near-significant correlation with salivary flow (P=0.07). Color vision test scores were also significantly correlated with AChE activity (P=0.04) and total protein levels (P=0.002). Conclusion. Salivary AChE activity is increased in PD patients compared to healthy controls. Future studies are needed to elucidate whether this parameter reflects the extent of neuronal damage and parasympathetic denervation in the salivary glands of PD patients.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2090-8083
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language English
publishDate 2015-01-01
publisher Wiley
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series Parkinson's Disease
spelling doaj-art-73149d319ad948e9bd1a467452952bc42025-02-03T01:09:41ZengWileyParkinson's Disease2090-80832042-00802015-01-01201510.1155/2015/156479156479Salivary Acetylcholinesterase Activity Is Increased in Parkinson’s Disease: A Potential Marker of Parasympathetic DysfunctionTatyana Fedorova0Cindy Soendersoe Knudsen1Kim Mouridsen2Ebba Nexo3Per Borghammer4Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Aarhus University Hospital, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Aarhus University Hospital, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkCenter for Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University Hospital, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Aarhus University Hospital, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Aarhus University Hospital, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkIntroduction. Decreased salivary flow and xerostomia are frequent findings in Parkinson’s disease (PD), possibly caused by alterations in the parasympathetic tonus. Here we explore salivary acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity as a potential biomarker in PD. Methods. We measured salivary flow, AChE activity, and total protein concentration in 30 PD patients and 49 healthy controls. We also performed exploratory correlation analyses with disease duration, motor symptom severity, autonomic complaints, and other nonmotor symptoms. Results. PD patients displayed significantly decreased salivary flow rate, significantly increased salivary AChE activity, and total protein concentration. Importantly, the AChE activity/total protein ratio was significantly increased in PD patients, suggesting that increased AChE activity cannot be explained solely by upconcentration of saliva. The Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) score displayed significant correlation with total salivary protein (P=0.002) and near-significant correlation with salivary flow (P=0.07). Color vision test scores were also significantly correlated with AChE activity (P=0.04) and total protein levels (P=0.002). Conclusion. Salivary AChE activity is increased in PD patients compared to healthy controls. Future studies are needed to elucidate whether this parameter reflects the extent of neuronal damage and parasympathetic denervation in the salivary glands of PD patients.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/156479
spellingShingle Tatyana Fedorova
Cindy Soendersoe Knudsen
Kim Mouridsen
Ebba Nexo
Per Borghammer
Salivary Acetylcholinesterase Activity Is Increased in Parkinson’s Disease: A Potential Marker of Parasympathetic Dysfunction
Parkinson's Disease
title Salivary Acetylcholinesterase Activity Is Increased in Parkinson’s Disease: A Potential Marker of Parasympathetic Dysfunction
title_full Salivary Acetylcholinesterase Activity Is Increased in Parkinson’s Disease: A Potential Marker of Parasympathetic Dysfunction
title_fullStr Salivary Acetylcholinesterase Activity Is Increased in Parkinson’s Disease: A Potential Marker of Parasympathetic Dysfunction
title_full_unstemmed Salivary Acetylcholinesterase Activity Is Increased in Parkinson’s Disease: A Potential Marker of Parasympathetic Dysfunction
title_short Salivary Acetylcholinesterase Activity Is Increased in Parkinson’s Disease: A Potential Marker of Parasympathetic Dysfunction
title_sort salivary acetylcholinesterase activity is increased in parkinson s disease a potential marker of parasympathetic dysfunction
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/156479
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