Neuritic pathology is lacking in the entorhinal cortex, subiculum and hippocampus in middle-aged adults with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or unipolar depression.
Earlier reports have provided conflicting results regarding the association between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mental disorders. Using a well-characterized postmortem series of 40 middle-aged human brains, we have performed quantitative analysis of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques in the entorhinal cortex, subiculum and rostral hippocampus in 9 subjects with schizophrenia, 8 with bipolar disorder, 12 with depression, and 11 age- and sex-matched controls. No significant differences were found among the four groups. Our study indicates that the Alzheimer-type changes, which might be related to the likelihood of AD development later in life, are not increased in middle-aged subjects with mental illness. The result also supports the more recent reports that have demonstrated no increased incidence of AD in mentally ill patients.
Damadzic
Ruslan
R
Section of Neuropathology, Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, Building 36, Room 3A24, 36 Convent Drive, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4091, USA.
Shuangshoti
Shanop
S
Giblen
Georgeta
G
Herman
Mary M
MM
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D018728:Entorhinal Cortex / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016874:Neurofibrillary Tangles / Q000473:pathology; D058225:Plaque, Amyloid / Q000473:pathology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology