Differences in β-amyloid ( β A4) deposition in human patients with Down's syndrome and sporadic Alzheimer's disease

Richard A. Armstrong*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The density of diffuse, primitive, classic and compact β-amyloid ( β A4) deposits was estimated in the hippocampus and adjacent gyri in human patients with Down's syndrome (DS) and sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). The objective of the study was to determine whether there were differences in β A4 deposition in DS and sporadic AD and whether these differences could be attributed to overexpression of the amyloid precursor gene (APP) in DS. Total β A4 deposit density was greater in DS than AD in all brain regions studied but the DS/AD density ratios varied between brain regions. In the majority of brain regions, the ratio of primitive to diffuse β A4 deposits was greater in DS but the ratio of classic to diffuse deposits was greater in AD. The data were consistent with the hypothesis that overexpression of the APP gene in DS may lead to increased β A4 deposition. However, local brain factors also appear to be important in β A4 deposition in DS. Overexpression of the APP gene may also be responsible for increased production of paired helical filaments (PHF) and result in enhanced formation of primitive β A4 deposits in DS. In addition, increased formation of classic deposits in AD suggests that factors necessary for the production of a compact amyloid core are enhanced in AD compared with DS. © 1994.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)133-136
Number of pages4
JournalNeuroscience Letters
Volume169
Issue number1-2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Mar 1994

Keywords

  • Down's syndrome
  • Alzheimer's disease
  • beta-amyloid deposition
  • amyloid precursor protein

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