Physostigmine restores 3H-acetylcholine efflux from Alzheimer brain slices to normal level

A technique was developed, which made it possible to study the in vitro release of 3H-acetylcholine (3H-ACh) from human post mortem brain tissue, collected with short post-mortem delay (2,5-22 hours), both from controls and patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD/SDAT). The tritium (3H) release was investigated during potassium stimulation, and AD/SDAT cortical slices were found to release a decreased amount of 3H compared to control brain slices. Physostigmine, 10(-5) and 10(-4) M, has no significant effect on the release of 3H from control slices, while physostigmine 10(-4) M increased the evoked release from AD/SDAT brain slices over threefold, nearly to the control level.