Alzheimer's disease: size class frequency distribution of senile plaques: do they indicate when a brain tissue was affected?

Richard A. Armstrong, D. Myers, C.U.M. Smith

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The size class frequency distribution of a sample of senile plaques (SP) was determined in a total of 20 brain regions from 5 elderly cases of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The purpose of the study was to determine whether a comparison of the frequency distributions could be used to determine the chronology of SP development in the AD brain. SP from 10 microns to a maximum diameter of 160 microns were present in the tissue and the size class frequency distributions were positively skewed. The frequency distributions varied between brain regions in: (1) the size class containing the mode, (2) the degree of positive skew, and (3) the ratio of large to small SP. In most patients the ratio of large to small SP was higher in the hippocampus or adjacent gyrus compared with temporal, parietal and frontal neocortex. If the diameter of a SP reflects its age in the tissue than the data suggest that SP formed earlier either in the hippocampus or adjacent gyrus compared with the other neocortical tissues. However, this conclusion rests on a number of assumptions including: (1) that SP diameter is directly related to age, (2) that SP development occurs at similar rates in different brain regions and (3) that, once formed, SP are not removed from the tissue by astrocytes.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)223-226
Number of pages4
JournalNeuroscience Letters
Volume127
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Jun 1991

Keywords

  • Alzheimer's disease
  • senile plaque
  • size class distribution
  • senile plaque pathogenesis

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Alzheimer's disease: size class frequency distribution of senile plaques: do they indicate when a brain tissue was affected?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this