PLATELET MEMBRANE FLUIDITY, FAMILY HISTORY, SEVERITY AND AGE OF ONSET IN ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE

Platelet membrane fluidity values were assessed in three groups of subjects: (1) 15 Alzheimer's disease patients with a first‐degree family history of the disorder; (2) 16 Alzheimer's disease patients with no family history of the disorder; (3) 22 healthy control subjects. The distributions of platelet membrane fluidity changes were found to be the same in both Alzheimer disease groups, but none of the controls had raised platelet membrane fluidity Severity of Alzheimer's disease as measured by Mini‐Mental State and Cambridge Cognitive Index scores correlated with platelet membrane fluidity values significantly for the non‐family history group but not for the family history group. There was no apparent association between raised platelet membrane fluidity and age of onset of Alzheimer's disease. There was no evidence to indicate that raised platelet membrane fluidity is a peripheral marker for familial Alzheimer's disease. Copyright © 1990 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.