Regional cortical blood flow changes following sodium lactate infusion in Alzheimer's disease

Bilateral temporoparietal hypoperfusion is a characteristic single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) finding in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Lactate is a metabolic vasodilator and is known to provoke increased cerebral blood flow (CBF) in healthy adults. This work investigated whether lactate, which is present in high concentrations in AD cerebrospinal fluid, affects AD-specific perfusion abnormalities. Twenty mild-to-moderately demented AD probands participated in the self-controlled study. The regional CBF was examined utilizing Tc-99m-HMPAO SPECT after sodium lactate infusion (0.5 M, 5 mL/kg body weight) and 0.9% NaCl infusion, one on each of two separate days. Despite the vasodilatator effects of sodium lactate, AD rCBF patterns did not show increase in temporo-parietal regions after its infusion. AD-specific bi-temporo-parietal reduction in CBF was accompanied by further hypoperfusion in the parieto-occipital areas after the sodium lactate infusion in seven patients, while no CBF changes were observed in the case of the remaining 13 probands. The pattern of the CBF abnormalities was not correlated with the apolipoprotein E genotype. The decreased vascular responsiveness to sodium lactate reflects disturbed vasoregulatory processes in AD and it is unlikely that lactate would have any relevance in the treatment of AD-related cerebral hypoperfusion, but could be used to improve the value of perfusion SPECT in the diagnosis of AD.