Conclusions
Our finding adds to the evidence that zinc modulating compounds are of interest for treatment or symptomatic relief in these dementias.
Methods
We used a multidimensional linear model to look for associations between measurements of agitation, delusions, amyloid, tau and α-synuclein pathology, and synaptic proteins (ZnT3, PSD95, synaptophysin, and β-III-tubulin) across multiple brain regions in post-mortem tissue from a cohort of 130 Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease patients and non-demented controls.
Objective
Neuropsychiatric symptoms such as agitation and delusions occur frequently in Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease and represent significant burden and unmet treatment need. The underlying aetiology remains poorly understood.
Results
We found both agitations and delusions to be significantly associated with increased tau pathology and decreased levels of ZnT3. ZnT3 packages Zn2+ into synaptic vesicles to be released as a long-term modulator of synaptic activity. Conclusions: Our finding adds to the evidence that zinc modulating compounds are of interest for treatment or symptomatic relief in these dementias.