No abstract

Sweat sodium concentration was estimated with pilocarpine iontophoresis in 15 women with Alzheimer''s disease (AD) and 29 healthy control women. The age ranged from 76 to 96 years with a mean age of 85 years in both groups. The mean sodium concentration of 91 ± 41 mmol/l (n = 11) in the Alzheimer patients was significantly higher than in the control group (62 ± 29 mmol/l, n = 27, p = 0.0011). 27% of AD patients and 7% of the control women did not respond to stimulation. The impaired sweating in AD patients make them more vulnerable to heat stress. Further studies are needed to reveal whether the neurophysiological mechanism involved is located in the hypothalamus, in cortical projections to the hypothalamus or in postganglionic sympathetic fibers.