title: Alzheimer-type neuropathology and clinical symptoms of dementia in mentally retarded people without Down syndrome.
abstract: Postmortem morphometric analyses of Bielschowsky stained sections from brains of 70 mentally retarded people without Down syndrome, age 65 and over when they died, indicated Alzheimer-type neuropathology in 22 cases (31%) and a majority with at least presence of some Alzheimer-type lesions. Based upon information abstracted from clinical histories, however, old-age-associated dementia proved to be difficult to judge reliably. Nevertheless, for otherwise healthy individuals (n = 25), loss of motor skills, development of problem behaviors, and a 10-point drop in IQ appeared to be likely indicators of Alzheimer's disease. Prevalence estimates of Alzheimer-type neuropathology among nonretarded people and the present sample appear comparable, and projections must be made to address the special needs of this rapidly growing population of retarded people.
authors.affiliation: New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, NY 10314.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barcikowska
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Silverman
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zigman
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Kozlowski
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kujawa
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rudelli
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Wisniewski
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012494:Sampling Studies