Is there a spatial association between senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease?

Abstract

Objective: To test the hypothesis that the clusters of senile plaques (SP) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are spatially associated as predicted by the 'Amyloid Cascade Hypothesis'. Methods: The spatial association between the SP and NFT was studied in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus in six cases of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD) using contingency tables. The coefficient C7 was used as an index of spatial association while chi-square with correction for continuity was used as a test of significance. Results: In the brain regions analysed, values of C7 were in the range -0.31 to +0.32 but a statistically significant spatial association between SP and NFT was present in only 8/39 (21%) regions. The degree of spatial association between the SP and NFT was similar in dfferent brain regions and did not vary with apolipoprotein ε genotype of the patient. However, the magnitude of C7 in a region was positively correlated with the density of the NFT and with the total density of SP and NFT but not with the density of SP alone. Conclusion: There was little evidence that SP and NFT were spatially associated except in brain areas with high densities of lesions. The data support the hypothesis that SP and NFT are distributed relatively independently in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus and therefore, could be distinct phenomena in AD.

Divisions: College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Optometry > Optometry
College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Optometry > Optometry & Vision Science Research Group (OVSRG)
College of Health & Life Sciences
College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Optometry > Vision, Hearing and Language
Additional Information: Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike International 4.0
Uncontrolled Keywords: Alzheimer's disease,contingency tables,neurofibrillary tangles,senile plaques,Pathology and Forensic Medicine,General Neuroscience,Clinical Neurology
Publication ISSN: 1509-572X
Last Modified: 29 Oct 2024 12:20
Date Deposited: 27 Apr 2010 11:36
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Related URLs: http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
http://www.term ... ubpage=ABSTRACT (Publisher URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2005
Authors: Armstrong, Richard A. (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-5046-3199)

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