Clinical and pathological study of two patients with progressive supranuclear palsy and Alzheimer's changes. Antigenic determinants that distinguish cortical and subcortical neurofibrillary tangles.

Full Abstract

Two cases with classical clinical manifestations of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) showed severe progressive dementia as an additional clinical feature. Neuropathological study demonstrated typical features of PSP in the brainstem. Additionally, histological criteria of Alzheimer's disease (AD) were observed. A topographic and immunohistological study (with neurofilament subunit and Tau and Ubiquitin antibodies) of the distribution of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) was performed in order to compare the characteristics of NFTs from cortex and brainstem. NFTs from cortex were positive with all antibodies used and were predominantly distributed in cortical layers III and V and affected medium size neurons. Brainstem NFTs were positive only for neurofilament subunits and Tau. Cortical and brainstem NFTs showed immunohistological differences. Cortical NFTs in our two cases had a similar distribution as in control AD cases. On the basis of our observations we believe (1) that cortical tangles in our PSP cases are related to Alzheimer's disease and (2) that the cortical NFTs of PSP and AD are morphologically and immunohistologically distinct. Mechanisms concerned with the production of cortical and brainstem NFTs in PSP and AD are discussed.

Author information

Author/s: Cruz-Sanchez, F F (FF); Rossi, M L (ML); Cardozo, A (A); Deacon, P (P); Tolosa, E (E);

Affiliation: Department of Medicine [Neurology], Hospital Clínico y Provincial, University of Barcelona, Spain.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Case Reports; Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Neuroscience letters (Neurosci Lett), published in NETHERLANDS. (Language: eng)

Reference: 1992-Feb; vol 136 (issue 1) : pp 43-6

Dates: Created 1992/08/24; Completed 1992/08/24; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 1321966, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 2/18/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.