Objective: The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that there is a reduction in the activity of the enzyme cytochrome c oxidase (Cox) in Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Methods: Systematic review of literature and meta-analysis were used with data obtained from the PubMed, Scopus, MEDLINE, Lilacs, Eric and Cochrane. The keywords were Alzheimer's AND Cox AND mitochondria; Alzheimer's AND Cox AND mitochondria; Alzheimer's AND complex IV AND mitochondria. A total of 1372 articles were found, 23 of them fitting the inclusion criteria. The data were assembled in an Excel spreadsheet and analysed using the RevMan software. A random effects model was adopted to the estimative of the effect.
Results: The data shows a significant decrease in the activity of the Cox AD patients and animal models.
Conclusion: Cox enzyme may be an important molecular component involved in the mechanisms underlying AD. Therefore, this enzyme may represent a possible new biomarker for the disease as a complementary diagnosis and a new treatment target for AD.
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; electron transport complex IV; meta-analysis; mitochondria.