Amino acids are crucial building blocks of protein in the body, and provide the source material for important brain neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine.This may be an important reason why patients with Alzheimer's dementia often show disrupted patterns of amino acid metabolism, including glutamic acid deficiencies.1,2

A new study by Dutch researchers suggests that early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease could be signaled by important alterations in amino acid metabolism.

The Amino Acids Analysis assays over 40 amino acids, including all essential, semi-essential and protein-forming amino acids. It can be performed as a blood or urine test. An amino acid supplement schedule is included should test results uncover any important deficiencies.

Psychiatric specialists performed amino acid plasma analysis on a group of patients with probable early stage Alzheimer's, as well as on a control group matched by age. The patients with initial symptoms of Alzheimer's exhibited much lower levels of tryptophan and methionine, suggesting disrupted transmethylation already present at this early stage of the disease. The researchers theorized that these imbalances may signal the beginning of disrupted neurotransmission in the brain involving both serotonin and dopamine--which play key roles in regulating sleep, mood, and behavior.3

Although homocysteine levels were normal in this particular group of patients, the researchers cited many previous studies showing increased homocysteine (associated with deficiency of B12 and folate) also occurring in clinical dementia and depression in Alzheimer's disease.

References:
1 Martinez M, Frank A, Diez-Tejedor E, Hernanz A. Amino acid concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid and serum in Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. J Neural Transm Park Dis Dement Sect 6(1):1-9.
2 Basun H, Forssell LG, Almkvist O, Cowburn RF, Ekof R, Winblad B, et al. Amino acid concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma in Alzheiemer's disease and healthy control subjects. J Neural Transm Park Dis Dement Sect 1990;2(4):295-304.
3 Fekkes D, van der Cammen TJM, van Loon CPM, Verschoor C, van Harskamp F, de Koning I, et. al. Journal of Neural Transmission 1998;105:287-294.

All lab tests can be done through the mail in the privacy of your own home, except blood tests, we send you to a lab to have your blood drawn for these. After you pay for the test we mail you the kit, the results take two weeks, the test results will be mailed to us and we will call you to go over the results, its that easy! All tests include the consultation for the report of findings.

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