A sex difference in neurodegeneration of the human hypothalamus.
The mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) of 33 males (mean age, 77 +/- 10 years) and 31 females (mean age, 78 +/- 10.3 years) was investigated for neurofibrillary pathology associated with abnormally phosphorylated tau protein. A conspicuous pathology was identified, characterized by terminal-like processes contacting the neurohemal vasculature of the posterior median eminence and the adjacent infundibular nucleus. This pathology revealed a striking sex difference: it was identified in 79% of the males, but observed in only 6% of the females. The vessel-associated neurofibrillary lesions of the mediobasal hypothalamus develop independently of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related neocortical pathology. The sex-dependent neurofibrillary degeneration is suggested as an explanation for an impairment in neuroendocrine function previously reported in elderly men.
Schultz
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C
Department of Morphology, J.W. Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main, Germany. schultz@em.uni-frankfurt.de
Braak
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H
Braak
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E
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics