Cell death in Alzheimer's disease evaluated by DNA fragmentation in situ

Loss of nerve cells is a hallmark of the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet the patterns of cell death are unknown. By analyzing DNA fragmentation in situ we found evidence for cell death not only of nerve cells but also of oligodendrocytes and microglia in AD brains. In average, 30 tim...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta neuropathologica 1995, Vol.89 (1), p.35-41
Main Authors: LASSMANN, H, BANCHER, C, BREITSCHOPF, H, WEGIEL, J, BOBINSKI, M, JELLINGER, K, WISNIEWSKI, H. M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Alzheimer Disease - diagnosis
Alzheimer Disease - pathology
Amyloid beta-Peptides - analysis
Biological and medical sciences
Cell Death
Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases
DNA Probes
Entorhinal Cortex - pathology
Humans
Medical sciences
Nerve Degeneration - immunology
Neurofibrillary Tangles - pathology
Neurology
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Summary:Loss of nerve cells is a hallmark of the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet the patterns of cell death are unknown. By analyzing DNA fragmentation in situ we found evidence for cell death not only of nerve cells but also of oligodendrocytes and microglia in AD brains. In average, 30 times more brain cells showed DNA fragmentation in AD as compared to age-matched controls. Nuclear alterations suggestive of apoptosis were rare in degenerating cells. Even though the majority of degenerating cells were not located within amyloid deposits and did not contain neurofibrillary tangles, neurons situated within areas of amyloid deposits or affected by neurofibrillary degeneration revealed a higher risk of DNA fragmentation and death than cells not exposed to these AD changes.
ISSN:0001-6322
1432-0533
DOI:10.1007/bf00294257