title: Beta-amyloid deposition in the medial temporal lobe in elderly non-demented brains and in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: The density of diffuse, primitive, classic and compact beta-amyloid (beta/A4) deposits was estimated in the medial temporal lobe in elderly non-demented brains and in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the non-demented cases, beta/A4 deposits were absent in the hippocampus but in 8/14 cases they were present in the adjacent cortical regions. Variation in beta/A4 deposition in the non-demented cases was large and overlapped with that of the AD cases. The ratio of mature to diffuse beta/A4 deposits was greater in the non-demented than in the AD cases. In both the non-demented cases and AD, the beta/A4 deposits were clustered with, in many tissues, a regular distribution of clusters along the cortex parallel to the pia. However, the mean cluster size of the deposits in the cortex was greater in AD than in the non-demented cases. These results suggest that the spread of beta/A4 pathology between the modular units of the cortex and into the hippocampus could be important factors in the development of AD.
authors.affiliation: Aston University, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Armstrong
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000032:analysis*; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000737:chemistry; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides