For studying rare hereditary Alzheimer's disease (AD), transgenic (Tg) animal models overexpressing amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) followed by increased amyloid-β (Aβ) formation are used. In contrast, sporadic AD has been proposed to start with a

Summary: The aim of this study was to examine whether serum anticholinergic activity (SAA) is a reliable indicator of delirium in the ICU, and whether there is a significant correlation between SAA and quantitative electroencephalographic (EEG) data in delirious patients. In a prospective cohort study, we assessed ICU patients diagnosed with delirium ( n = 37). EEG measurements and blood analysis including SAA were performed 48 h following ICU admission. The presence of delirium was evaluated using the Confusion Assessment Method for critically ill patients in ICU (CAM‐ICU). The SAA level was measured using a competitive radioreceptor binding assay for muscarinergic receptors and quantitative EEG was measured using the CATEEM ^® system. We found that, under comparable conditions, patients in the delirium group showed a higher relative EEG theta power and a reduced alpha power ( n = 17) than did the non‐delirious patients ( n = 20). No difference in measured SAA levels were seen; therefore, there was no correlation between SAA and EEG measurements in delirious patients. We conclude that, in contrast to the EEG, the SAA level cannot be proposed as a tool for diagnosing delirium in ICU patients.

Delirium increases morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs especially in the elderly. Serum anticholinergic activity (SAA) is a suggested biomarker for anticholinergic burden and delirium risk, but the association with cerebral cholinergic function remains unclear. To clarify this relationship, we prospectively assessed the correlation of SAA with quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) power, delirium occurrence, functional and cognitive measures in a cross-sectional sample of acutely hospitalized elderly (> 80 y) with high dementia and delirium prevalence.