title: Distribution of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques in the cerebral cortex in postencephalitic parkinsonism.
abstract: Postencephalitic parkinsonism is characterized neuropathologically by severe loss of pigmented neurons in the substantia nigra and the presence of high densities of neurofibrillary tangles in several brainstem structures. In 5 cases of postencephalitic parkinsonism, we observed that the neurofibrillary tangle distribution in the cerebral cortex predominated in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. In the prefrontal and inferior temporal cortex, neurofibrillary tangles were preferentially localized in layers II and III. This pattern contrasts with the neurofibrillary tangle distribution observed in neocortical areas of Alzheimer's disease cases, where neurofibrillary tangles are denser in layer V than in layer III. These results suggest that specific elements of the cortical circuitry might be differentially affected in postencephalitic parkinsonism as compared to Alzheimer's disease, and that cortical involvement is likely to be a common feature of this condition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics and Adult Development, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029.
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Hof
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Charpiot
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Delacourte
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Buée
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Purohit
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Perl
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bouras
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D016874:Neurofibrillary Tangles / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010301:Parkinson Disease, Postencephalitic / Q000473:pathology*; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016875:tau Proteins