Abstract
To clarify the neuropathological hallmark of dementia, we evaluated cortical neuronal loss, senile plaque, and neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) in the senile brains with and without dementia neuropathologically. In the demented brains, neuronal loss was significant in temporal, parietal, cingulate, parahippocampal gyrus and in hippocampal formation. Senile plaques other than the diffuse plaque were found more than 15, NFT more than 20, and the diffuse plaque more than 50 per 200× microscopic field in demented cerebral cortices. Senile plaque was also found in striatum, thalamus, and cerebellum of a non-demented as well as all demented brain.
These results suggest that the histological hallmark of the senile plaque and NFT mentioned above could be available for a neuropathological diagnosis of senile dementia of Alzheimer's type.
