title: Neuropathology of parkinsonism-dementia complex and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis of Guam: an update.
abstract: A comparative study was performed to investigate the differences and similarities of the neuropathological findings in the parkinsonism-dementia complex (PDC) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) of Guam, progressive supranuclear palsy and classic ALS. Based on the findings, it is proposed that (a) PDC is a discrete disease entity, (b) NFTs in Chamorro ALS are merely a background feature widely distributed in this population, (c) Chamorro ALS is a disease combined with classic ALS and neurofibrillary degeneration, (d) thus a subtype of "Guam ALS" is not present, and (e) PDC and ALS of Guam are different diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropathology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Neuroscience, 2-6 Musashidai, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8526, Japan, Email: k123ysm@tmin.ac.jp.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oyanagi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wada
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D003704:Dementia / Q000473:pathology*; D006141:Guam; D006801:Humans; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology