ALUMINUM ACCUMULATION IN HUMAN BRAIN TISSUES

Normal cell functions of the brain are often impaired by an excess accumulation of metal ions. There have been increasing efforts in recent years to measure and quantify excessive accumulations of biological constituent elements (such as Fe, Zn, Cu, and Ca), as well as the presence and distribution of contaminating elements (such as Al) in the brain tissues. Since Al might be associated with cases of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) and amiotrophic lateral screlosis (ALS), it is very important to measure and quantify Al levels using precise analytical techniques. The aim of this investigation is to measure the Al contents present in the temporal cortises for three cases. The specimens concerned were taken from unfixed autopsy brains, which have been preserved in a deep freezer at -80°C. A tandem type accelerator of 2 MeV energy was used to measure the concentrations of Al in these specimen tissues. In order to increase the sensitivity of the signals in the low energy region of the spectra, the absorber was removed. The results show that peak intensity depends on the site measured. In certain cases, however, an extremely high concentration of Al was observed in PIXE spectra, with an intensity higher than those of the other major elements present in the brain. Samples from the same subjects were also analyzed using EPMA-EDX. X-ray maps produced by EPMA-EDX showed the presence of extremely high concentrations of Al. The results yielded by PIXE analysis was in good qualitative agreement with those from EPMA-EDX.