Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROPATHOLOGY AND EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
Volume 67, Issue 4, Pages 309-318Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1097/NEN.0b013e31816a1df3
Keywords
aging; Alzheimer disease; basal forebrain cholinergic system; pathology
Categories
Funding
- NIA NIH HHS [R29 AG010282-04, T32 AG23480, R01 AG014706, AG14706, R01 AG014706-01A1, T32 AG023480] Funding Source: Medline
- NIMH NIH HHS [MH/NS 31862] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
A large body of evidence indicates that basal forebrain cholinergic neurons are selectively vulnerable to degeneration early in Alzheimer disease (AD). Recent studies, however, demonstrate reductions in cortical activity of the cholinergic enzyme choline acetyltransferase only in late stages of AD. To address this apparent contradiction, we compared abnormalities in magnocellular basal forebrain cholinergic neurons and their axons in nondemented young (<65 years; n = 6), nondemented old (>65 years; n = 7), pathologically mild (n = 5), and pathologically severe (n = 5) AD cases. Cholinergic axon abnormalities (i.e. thickened fibers and ballooned terminals) were evident in nondemented middle-aged cases, increased in nondemented old cases, and reduced in density in severe AD. This suggests that loss of cortical cholinergic axons in AD occurs preferentially in fibers with these abnormalities. Paired helical filament 1-immunoreactive pretangles and tangles were observed as early as the third decade prior to their appearance in entorhinal/perirhinal cortex; they were increased in mild and severe AD. These results indicate that basal forebrain cholinergic neuron abnormalities are present very early in aging and in the course of AD. Therefore, despite the morphologic alterations, choline acetyltransferase activity, but not necessarily normal neuron functions, may be preserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available