title: Neurofilament-immunoreactive neurons in Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies.
abstract: The cortical neurons thought to be selectively affected in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are those containing nonphosphorylated 200-kDa neurofilament (NF) protein. As these neurons are largely spared in Alzheimer's disease (AD), DLB and AD may impact on different cortical neuronal populations. The present study quantifies the NF-containing neurons in frontal and temporal cortex of 8 AD, 8 DLB, and 8 control cases. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue was immunohistochemically stained with antibodies against nonphosphorylated and phosphorylated NF. Immunoreactive neurons were quantified by areal fraction analysis and corrected for cortical volume. As expected, nonphosphorylated and phosphorylated NF accumulated in the pathological hallmarks of AD and DLB. However, rather than a decrease in NF-containing neurons, a doubling of this population was observed in DLB, compared with AD and controls. This increased number of cortical NF-containing neurons reveal novel widespread cortical changes, beyond those explained by Lewy body formation, that are specific for DLB.
authors.affiliation: Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, University of New South Wales, Barker Street, Randwick, Sydney 2031, Australia.
authors.forename: Claire E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Shepherd
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: McCann
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Thiel
authors.forename: Glenda M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Halliday
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010766:Phosphorylation
chemical_list: D016900:Neurofilament Proteins